What 7 years can Change
by Chrys Stone
Summary: Book one of the Dragon Royal Series. Natsu and the Gang are Seven years behind, but maybe that's just what they needed. Forgive the grammar and spelling hiccups in this fic if it's your first time reading it, I did a write and post for this first book, the second and third are done properly.
1. Chapter 1

Hey this is my first Fic in over 7 years, so be nice. I do not own Fairy tail or any characters.  
>****What 7 years can change.****<p>

Natsu POV

Chapter 1: New beginning

When we got back to fairytail, it felt like everything had changed. Everyone was older, but we were the same. I wasn't sure what to think.

I fallowed Lucy to Love and Lucky to try to find her Dad. My chest hurt to see the vacant look in her eyes when she stood in front of her parents' graves. I stayed silent as she said good bye. I wasn't sure why but I felt sadder than she looked. I couldn't get the look in her eyes out of my head. I snapped at some stuck up girls. Lucy forced a smile...

I just wanted to do something to make her eyes go back to normal. Lucy told me to stop, she apologized. She started to let some of the weight off. She asked why she couldn't cry, accusing herself of hating her father. I couldn't let her.

"That's not true."

I tried to explain it the best that I could. That it doesn't matter if she cries, the feelings inside were what mattered. That got a weak smile. I watched her closely the rest of the way back to Magnolia, my chest still tight. When we got back, Happy and I went our separate way, maybe Lucy needed some time alone.

"We need to the find a job, that might cheer her up!" Happy nodded to my suggestion.

When we got to Strawberry street, we say Lucy's Land Lady. 'she does not look good in Lucy's cloths' I thought looking at the large woman in one of Lucy's favorite tops. She told us to take it easy on Lucy for a while, that her dad had paid her back rent. 'Now we need food money'

"Lucy" I called. "We're off to work!" Happy made his own comment.

"Wait up! I'm coming too!" She yelled in a shaky voice. I smiled to myself, 'bout time' I thought as Lucy came out. She smiled "Let's go!" She smiled. The tight feeling in my chest relaxed a little. And I smiled back, 'that's my Lucy.' I thought and headed for the train station. 'I hate trains!'

Slowly her smile came back, She told me about the letter from her dad. I tried to nod, to let her know I heard, but my motion sickness made it difficult. I decided to just listen quietly and let her talk. After a while the sound of her voice faded. I looked over weakly and saw she had fallen asleep. Her hair tickled my nose as I realized she had her head resting on my shoulder. The sick feeling left my stomach for awhile, leaving this warm tingle. I dunno why but I reached out a tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Sorry I couldn't do much to make it better for you Luce." I muttered, looking at how peacefully she was sleeping. I didn't ever wanna see her like that again, I didn't understand why, but it hurt to much.

The mission was easy. I didn't even burn down any houses. I was happy to see Lucy smile when she got the reward. My chest felt warmer than usual, but I decided to ignore it.

"Neh, Natsu?" She asked as we walked.

"Huuh?" I stopped and looked at her, there was slight tint of pink on her cheeks.

"How bad is you're shack?" I looked at the ground and sighed. "that bad huh?"

"Aye. We almost couldn't find it." Happy chimed in also lowering his head.

"Well, do you want to crash on my couch till you guys can get it fixed up?" I looked at her wide eyed, mouth gaping. "What?" she was fidgeting, playing with her fingers.

A wide smile spread across my face. "Your the best Luce!" I gave her a quick hug and turned to head home, Happy fallowed close behind. After a minute I realized Lucy hadn't moved. I turned to look at her, her head was bowed sightly her bangs covering her eyes, I could see her face had gotten redder. "Are you ok Luce?" I started to walk back to her. I nearly fell over when she lunged wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Your my best friend" She sobbed, clinging tightly to me. Instinctively I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"Don't cry Luce, your mine too." I smiled, burying my head in her golden hair. We stood there for a while. I ignored Happy's calls of "She liiiiiiikes you." Lucy didn't bother to respond either. The warmth in my chest seemed to be spreading, sending little shocks through my body. I held tighter, enjoying this new feeling. "we should get moving or we'll miss the train." I coughed after what seemed like forever. I rubbed the back of my neck as I started to walk toward the station.

"Thank you." Lucy muttered then fell into step beside me. I smiled and nodded. For some reason I couldn't seem to bring myself to say anything else.

The ride home was just as comfortable. I was still sick, but it wasn't as bad. When we got back, we went to the guild. Everyone was laughing and recounting how Mira and Erza beat up the Twilight Orge guild. I listened, but didn't really pay much attention.

"Oi, Lucy, we don't have to take another mission for a while right?" I muttered low so only she could hear. She tilted her head giving me a questioning gaze, seeming satisfied she nodded. "Why don't you take a couple days to work on your book... you are seven years behind after all. Happy and I won't bug you cause we'll be trying to dig our house out." I gave her my best smile. Her eyes lit up a bit, and she agreed.

We spent a couple hours chatting with the friends who hadn't been on the island with us. I tried hard to focus on who all was there, and noticed some people acting strangle. Gajeel was in his usual spot, as far from every one as possible, but I noticed a stack of books piled up near by and blue hair peaking out over top. Lyon was still visiting with his guild, and I noticed he was sitting on one side of Juvia with Gray on her other side. Gray looked annoyed every time Lyon said something that resulted in Juvia's laughter. Lissanna was at the Bar with Mira-jane chattering about something that seemed important. Erza was at the bar, eating a slice of cake, but her armor was missing. Elfman wasn't any where around, and it seemed that Laxus and his team had gone off. A very thin Reedus was painting. Romeo was blushing as he talked to Wendy about some mission he had been on recently. Cana was sitting at a table not to far with her cards. I stopped to look at her.

"Hey Lucy is something wrong with Cana?" I asked. She fallowed my line of sight to see Cana.

"I don't think so why?" She shrugged.

"She isn't drinking." I pointed out. Lucy stifled a laugh. "what's funny?" I looked at her curiously.

"I think Cana decided when she told Gildarts about being his daughter, that she decided she didn't need to drink the way she used to. I think she is happy that they have a relationship now." She sighed, and I could tell she was thinking of her dad. I patted her head.

"You may not have your parents anymore, but you still have your Nakama!" I was rewarded with a true smile. She nodded and got up to go over to Cana, and I went over to the bar.

"So what happened in Acrifa?" Mira and Lissanna looked at me with wide eyes. I noticed Erza shift her gaze as well.

"Lucy's Dad died last month." I looked down, not wanting to see the reactions. "and he sent the money to cover seven years of rent for Lucy." I shrugged. "She's better now, but for a little bit I wasn't sure." I looked up to see tears in their eyes. "Don't bug her about it ok? She just started smiling again." I warned. Mira gave me a small knowing smile, Lissanna nodded and Erza patted my back. I took the mug of fire whiskey Mira offered me, drinking it slowly. I mulled over what to do about my house, there were things that I wanted out of the rubble. It didn't feel like home anymore, just wood and dirt. Maybe I would need to rebuilt it from scratch. I groaned at the thought, so much work.

"I'm going to stay with Wendy tonight, Natsu!" Happy waved, leaving with Wendy and Charle.

There was a small tap on my shoulder, I turned to see Lucy. "I'm heading out." She said softly. I looked at my cup taking one last swig.

"Night Mira, Lissanna." I waved getting up.

I fallowed Lucy to her apartment. We went in through the front, a rare thing for me. I noticed the stack of presents on the table. "Hey Luce.." I trailed off, she seemed to have noticed what I was looking at.

"Father sent a present every year on my birthday. It's funny, when I was little I didn't even think he knew what my birthday was." She gave a sad smile.

"What are you going to do with them?" She shrugged, walking toward the closet. She tossed me a pillow and a towel.

"I'm going to use the bath first. Don't get everything messy while I'm in there ok." She sighed and went to get a change of clothes. I sat at the table in the small kitchen, eying up the presents on the table. A strange thought crossed my mind, 'when is my birthday' it occurred to me then that I wasn't even sure how old I actually was. I always guessed I was around the same age as Gray, but I didn't know for sure. I made a mental note to check with gramps.

I was so caught up in thought that I didn't notice Lucy came back. "Hey, Natsu your turn." she said waving a hand in front of my face. I shook off the weird feeling with a smile, and headed for the tub. I didn't bother with much, just washed the dirt off running my fingers through my hair. I sighed, drying off and putting my spare clothes on.

Lucy was sitting in front of the 'present table' I stopped in my tracks, I could see tears streaming down her cheeks. My chest tightened and I made my way over and sat next to her. She leaned her head on my shoulder. "I think you should open a least one of them." I put my arm around her protectively. She nodded and reached for a box. Inside was a finely crafted leather whip. Lucy choked up, I pulled her closer, letting her cry it out. "you don't have to do this all at once, but I think it might help." I combed my fingers nervously in her still wet hair.

She smiled up at me weakly, yet confidently. "I'll be ok so long as you stay with me." My heart skipped a beat. I nodded letting her know I wasn't going any where. She opened another box to reveal a new pair of knee high boots. Another had a knee length red leather jacket, that was decorated with white stars down the back. the button were gold keys. In yet another box there was an assortment of barrettes and ribbons. The sixth box held a small purse with 10,000 jewels, it had a new leather belt with attachments for her key pouch, whip and money purse. I was the final box, the one that had come with the letter that really got her. It was smaller than the others, but had a delicate box. She opened it slowly, and revealed a gold key, there was a small note inside.

'Lucy dear,

In my travels I came across an old Celestial mage, and when I began to speak to her of you, she decided to pass this on to you.  
>Use it well my beloved child. Make your Mama and me proud.<br>Love Always  
>your PaPa'<p>

Lucy took the key and inspected it, "Libra" she breathed tears spilling over. I looked at it curiously. She just put it in her pouch, and yawned wiping at the tears. I chuckled and she shot me a tired glare.

"I'll head over there now." I pointed to the couch, getting up. She Yawned again and headed for her soft bed.

"Neh, Natsu?" She whispered. I turned to look. "You'll be here in the morning right?" Her cheeks flushed pink again. I nodded, plopping on the couch. "Neh, Natsu?" She said from under the blankets, I raised my eyebrow. "Could you sit with me till I fall asleep?" I smiled making my way to the bed and sat on the floor with my pillow. "Thank you." she murmured through the thick blanket. I chuckled, and leaned my head back letting the exhausting from the past couple days take me under.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Digging out memories

The morning sun shown through the window. I let out a yawn, stretching. As I shifted I noticed a blanket fallen on my lap. I smirked and looked at the bed. 'Lucy must be up already.' I heard shuffling from the kitchen. I sniffed the air and caught a whiff of vanilla and cinnamon. I let my nose lead me to the kitchen.

"Whacha makin' Luce?" I asked sitting at the table. She smiled brightly.

"I went out early and got cinnamon rolls, you want one?" I nodded enthusiastically.

"Are you feeling better today?" I asked quietly. Her smile grew as she nodded. I finished up my breakfast, smiling like a mad man. "I'm gonna head to the guild to get Happy before we start working on the house." I noticed her smile falter a bit. "Wanna come with me?" She nodded and dashed into the other room.

I waited a few minutes. Lucy came out wearing the things that had been sent to her, with a tight fitted black tee and a pair of Capri jeans tucked into the tops of her boots. She smiled. "How's it look?" She spun on the spot. I plastered a serious look on my face.

"It's very different from what you usually wear, but I think it suits you." I nodded approvingly. She attached her belongings to the thick black belt, and we headed out.

The guild was as noisy as ever. Lucy lagged a few paces behind me, I could tell she was nervous. "Come on Luce, don't you wanna gloat to Mira and Levy?" I stuck my tongue out and she giggled. 'that's better' I nodded in approval and we headed to the bar. "Mira~!" I called. She smiled at me. "Is happy here yet?" Mira shook her head and turned her attention to Lucy.

"Well what do we have here." She chirped, clapping her hands gleefully. "A new look for our pretty Lucy-chan!" At that comment head turned. I noted mentally who was ogling Lucy, and who had better things to do. I though of possibly starting a fight with a few, but the look on Lucy's face made me think twice. She was enjoying the attention, and I wasn't about to sour her mood with fighting. "So these were all gifts from your father?" Mira was over joyed. Lucy nodded happily. "He has impeccable taste Lucy-chan!" I saw Lucy's smile falter for a split second.

Levy bounded out of NO WERE full force into Lucy's chest. "This looks awesome on you Lu-Chan! You look so grown up!" And there it was, that smile. The warmest thing on the planet, at least in my eyes. I grinned, the warmth spreading through my insides. There was a clank and I looked up to see Mira put a mug of Fire Whiskey in front of me with a smile. I nodded my thanks, and she smiled brightly at me. Something about her smile was a little unnerving, but I wasn't that worried.

I heard Lucy and Levy chat about shopping and Lucy's book. Lucy didn't mention anything about what happened with the graves, or the mission, I was grateful, the last thing I needed was to get teased. I continued to focus on my mug, while listening intently, making sure she was alright. After a while the doors opened and Wendy with the two cats came in. Before I got a chance to shush him Happy started toward Lucy.

"Lucy, how were you last night?" He landed on her head nuzzling her. She whispered in his ear, he nodded several times, and flew over to me. "So are we going to get to work, Natsu?" He said before I had a chance to say anything. Mira gave me a wary look.

"Our house looks like it was caught in a land slide, gotta dig it out." I rubbed the back of my neck. I leaned across the counter and said quieter "Keep and eye on her for me. She putting up a brave front, and she probably doesn't want to worry everyone." Mira gave me a sad smile and took my mug. "Luce I'll see you at the guild later, Happy and I have work to do!" She waved, with a smile, but I could see the sad look in her eyes. I shuttered, but I knew she could handle this. I steadied myself and head out the door.

After about an hour of digging we were able to open the door and the one window. The air inside was stagnant. the dust stung my eyes. I saw the place where I kept my special things. it looked like the 'cave in' had help to preserve some things. I smiled at the job posting for the first job Lucy and I went on as a team, and laughed when I saw the maids uniform was still intact. These were great memories, I just sat on the floor and scanned over them.

"Natsu are you ok?" Happy called out interrupting my thoughts. I nodded and stood up.

"It doesn't feel the same does it Happy?" I shifted my weight turning to see the sad look on my friends face.

"Aye." was all he said. I decided to take a few things out of the rubble, for all I knew this place could crumble any minute.

"Hey Happy can you take these back to Lucy's, the Window is unlocked. I'll meet you at the guild." He nodded taking the sack that held my belongings. I took one last look around with a deep sigh, I climbed out of the door path. I was barely ten feet away when I heard the crash of the roof caving in. My heart dropped, and I decided to ask Mira for a double sized portion of my whiskey.

"What happened to you Natsu." I heard Erza's concerned voice as I entered the guild.

"long story." I muttered grumpily as I sat at the bar. "Mira can you make me a double this time." She turned to me eyes wide at the mess I was covered in. "It was worse that I though." I grumbled as she passed me a mug. I got a good look at myself in the liquid before downing it. I motioned for a second, and Mira obliged. Erza slide into the seat next to me.

"You look like you were caught in a land slide." She remarked pointing at my torn pants and vest. My hair was thoroughly matted with dirt. I nodded.

"Pretty much. My house collapsed." I don't know if it came out angry or sad, maybe a mix of both, but Erza put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'll be alright, Happy and I just have to rebuild it... It'll take us a while." I groaned out between sips of the fiery liquid. "One more Mira." I handed her my cup again.

"Oi, Flamehead, why are you drinking so much?" Gray came up behind me.

"I can do whatever I want Snow PRINCESS." I growled.

"But you never drink this much, Walking ashtray." Gray spit back.

"ENOUGH." Erza stood up. "Natsu you can stay in my equipment room till you're done rebuilding." She looked proud of herself.

"I'm staying with Lucy." I muttered into my mug. I heard a gasp and looked up. Erza didn't look happy and Gray had a tint of pink of his cheeks. "What, she offered her couch to me and Happy yesterday." I shrugged. Erza looked at Mira who gave her a don't-ask-me look. I decided that was enough. "Hey Mira you mind If I use the shower in the back?" I didn't want to go home all muddied up. Not when Lucy's place looked so clean. Mira nodded.

I heard Erza and Gray in a heated arrangement and turned. "I would rather die than stay with that Popsicle so just let it go Erza." I turned back to head for the shower. It felt good to get the grim off. I was glad that I had managed to bring a second pack out of the rumble with clean clothes. Thoughts spun through my head like crazy, for some reason I wished I didn't have to rebuild my place, maybe then I could stay by Lucy to make sure she didn't cry any more. She is the best thing in my life, a friend I depend on more than the others in more ways than even she knows. I decided to talk to her about it later. I turned off the shower and dressed quickly.

"Feel better?" Mira asked shyly. I nodded. "are you hungry?" she added. I honestly hadn't thought about my stomach since I left Lucy this morning.

"Actually yea I am. Got anything good?" I leaned against the bar propping my head on the back of my interlaced hands. She nodded and walked away.

"You're to calm it's unnerving." Gray sat down to my left. I took a deep breath.

"I'm not calm, I'm just thinking." I shook my head trying to wipe away unwanted anger.

"What are you planning to do?" I could actually make out a concerned note in his voice. I shrugged.

"Take it one day at a time I guess." I answered with a heavy sigh. Mira came back with a plate of flaming chicken. I uttered my thanks before digging in. "Hey Mira, Happy should get here soon, do you have any fish back there?" She gave me another sweet smile.

It wasn't long before Happy flew in to sit beside me. "It's completely gone buddy." I put my hand on his head. He didn't seem to mind since he was munching on fish. I took a deep breath, remember what I wanted to do last night. "Yo, Mira have you seen Gramps?"

"He should be in his office." She said cleaning up the spot I just left.

"Happy stay here with Mira I'll be back." I patted his head again. He nodded. I got to the door and Knocked, very unlike myself. He said something before I opened the door. "Hey Gramps, I was wondering. Do you know when My real birthday is?" He looked at me with a questioning eye. I sat down in one of his over sized wing back chairs.

"Natsu is something wrong?" for some reason I felt the need to look down.

"I've been feeling strange since we got back. And then when Lucy found out her dad had sent her presents for her birthday and seeing how sad she was, I felt powerless... and my mind has been going none stop. I know Igneel gave me a birthday, I know I have a Birthday with Fairytail, but I don't know how old I actually am, who I was. Did I have parents, who were they, How did Igneel find me. Why did he keep me. How am I supposed to be able to do anything when I can't get my mind straight!" I hadn't realize how much pain I as holding down till the tears hit my hands. "I don't want to feel weak like this." I whispered.

Gramps put a hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to know the day you came into this world Natsu, because for you life started when you were with Igneel. That is the day of your birth. You are not weak to have feelings, they, much like fear, teach us our boundaries. And I'm sure if you talk to Lucy as I did earlier you'll see that you helped her more than you realize. She depends on you more than you realize. It's also important that you let yourself depend on others every so often. That is how bonds grow stronger." I looked up and wiped my face. I felt a little revealed.

"You're right. Thanks Gramps." I gave him a grin and left the office. 'It made sense the way he said it. This hurt must be my wanting a place to belong. I just needed to listen to my own feelings, I can feel things other than anger and joy right? I've always played them off like they didn't exist, but I think now it might be time to embrace these emotions. Time to face the memories of my past and let someone see me as vulnerable, not to happy about it, but if gramps says it's necessary then I know the perfect person.' I took my place at the bar again, feeling a bit better. Now just to wait for Lucy.

**Hey: how is it so far? I'm glad to get to writing something Fluffish like this. I know the first chapter was choppy, but I don't like going verbatim from the Manga. I love NaLu more than any other pair. *fangirl squeal* I hope you guys enjoy the premise of the story.**

**I'll have another chapter up soon ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Confessions 

I sat at the bar, quietly thinking, I was very aware of the eyes that glared at my back. I sighed deeply and made a decision. I got up from my space and went over to Gajeel, placing some scraps of metal from my demolished home as a peace offering. "what do you want." He shot me a venomous look, accepting my offering.

"I wanna ask you something personal, and I think you're the only one I can really talk to about this cause we are similar." I put my head on the bar, keeping my voice so low only Gajeel and maybe Wendy could hear.

"I can try I guess." For a second I was happy that Levy was spending so much time with the metal freak, he seemed to have softened up a bit.

"Do Dragon Slayers feel the same things normal people do?" He looked at me for a moment. He seemed to be thinking of a good way to put it.

"I seem to be in the same boat." he finally admitted. "When my father left I was still young, and it's not like he explained the world to me. We focused on Magic and basics of getting by in society." I nodded.

"It's just.. I become overwhelmed when I think, so I try not to. I usually just let my instincts take over and do what feels right. But what they are telling me now doesn't seem normal. I'm so protective of a singular thing." I sighed exasperated.

"I haven't been able to let 'it' out of my sight either." He nodded, so maybe it was because of our heightened senses.

"Do you know what you're gonna do about it?" I nudged him in the side. He shook his shaggy main and smirked.

"But I know what I'm not gonna do." His smirk grew as he eyed something on the other side of the guild. "I'm not letting 'it' get away. I know enough to get that we only have one shot at this flame head. Don't do anything to rash ok." I scoffed, even though it felt good to have some what of a big brother conversation with Gajeel.

"Want a hint for what 'it' wants for 'it's' birthday?" I turned away. He pushed me lightly, and I laughed.

"No I can manage on my own, you on the other hand, 'it' seems to be having a major effect on your fighting spirit, better be careful before you become whipped." I scowled at him before I laughed. He laughed back at me. With a camouflaged fist bump I went back to my seat with other things to think through. I didn't know where Lucy had gone so I had no idea when she would get back.

"Mira, do you know if the resource room is open, and don't look at me like that. I CAN read." she tried to muffle her laughter with her hands, and I rolled my eyes. "Yes or No, Mira." She nodded. I headed to the back hearing Gray mutter "A shower and reading, he must be SICK." I shot him a heated glare before descending to the resource room. It took me a while to find what I wanted, but when I finally did I wasn't sure I wanted it any more. The book was half my height and weight a ton. I plopped the Volume on the table, and began to scan through it's contents. "Dragons are creatures we know very little about. In ancient texts we can decipher, that these Majestic Beasts lived in small colonies. Usually the colonies were made up of two strong males, and several females. Toward the time of their supposed extinction, theory had changed to that of Dragon having one life mate and working together with the others to protect their nests. It is clear how ever that once a mate is lost, the surviving dragon would never chose another, why this happened we are unsure." I read aloud. What Gajeel had said sank in, the feelings made sense. I really did need to be careful here, or I wouldn't just lose my best friend. I looked back at the text, reading to myself some sources for more research. I decided to write them down and ask Levy later for a hand translating them. I took a deep breath and slumped back in my chair.

I soon became aware of foot steps near the door. It creaked open slowly, i heard heel clacking and relaxed. "So Mira wasn't kidding." she looked down from the stair case.

"Why hello to you too Luce." I smiled trying really hard not to sound offended. She giggled.

"What are you reading." I was slightly shocked at how fast she made it down the stairs.

"Reading about Dragons." I shrugged. Her eyes widened in amazement when she looked at the volume in front of me. Then to the list beside me.

"You're really studying this hard." she nodded giggling at something. I didn't mind by this point, she seemed to have had a good time where ever she had gone. "So how was your place." 'wrong question' I thought to myself, as I hung my head limply.

"It doesn't exist any more. Happy and I were lucky to get out with what we did, the roof caved in as soon as I got out." I said in a little voice. She made a shocked noise and dragged me to my feet, I dunno why but she seem to be looking for large chunks of flesh to be missing. "I cleaned up when I got back here, Happy's fine too." I patted her head.

"I guess you two are gonna be staying longer than." She smiled. I was a little dumb founded by the thought of her being happy about us staying. "Well then we need to hurry before the store closes!" She had grabbed my wrist and began dragging me up the stairs. As soon as we made it to the landing she called for Happy who gladly landed in her other arm. She waived to the group of female mages that were crowed around Mira. "I'll see you bright and EARLY Levy, don't forget!" then we were off moving swiftly though the streets.

After a good hour and a half we were finally hauling Lucy's purchases back to the apartment. She opened the door and ushered me and happy inside. I was happy to plop myself of the couch. She pulled the thin mattress out beside her bed pulling pillows and a comforter out. Lucy placed an enormous pillow at the foot of her bed which Happy accepted without being told it was his. I closed my eyes leaning my head on the back of the couch. "Are you guys hungry?" My ears perked up. I noticed Happy on the other hand was out cold. 'More for me' I thought with a smirk.

"Always." I replied simply. Lucy laughed and pulled out some boxed from her pantry. She was shuffling around balancing jars and cans. I watched highly amused. "You know you don't have to cook, we could go eat some where." Lucy stopped in her track, turning slowly towards me. I shuttered not sure what to expect.

"You're right I am to tired to try and cook right now." She started putting things away, I felt a need to help so I got up and started putting boxes back in the pantry. "Ok, um, what about Happy?" I shook my head pointing to my sleeping Cat.

"Mira fattened him up so much he won't wake up till noon." I laughed, Lucy looked at Happy and laughed as well.

I decided to let Lucy pick where we ate, she was leading me down town the cathedral where there was a little Cafe that stayed open all night. I suppose it was good for business to be the only place open all night. I shrugged it off, food is food right?. We went inside and sat at a both in the far corner. Lucy's eyes lite up with she looked at the menu. "See something good Luce?" I tried to lean over to see what she was looking at. She nodded and pointed to a picture of a sandwich. I nodded, wondering what else she might want. "Are you gonna get a shake or one of those fizzy drinks?" I asked innocently.

"I think I want a strawberry shake. I wanna see if they are as good as Mira's" She smiled at the thought. I just watched her over my menu, I was truly glad to see that she was feeling better. I smiled back at her with the goofiest grin I could come up with, which made her laugh. The waitress came over, and Lucy ordered her shake and sandwich. She turned to me, but my gaze was still toward Lucy. I ordered enough to feed a small family with a fire whiskey. She smiled at Lucy and I caught a strange hand gesture, but the blush on Lucy's face made it pretty obvious. I laced my fingers together thinking ,' its now or never right.;

"So, Luce. How long is it ok for me and Happy to stay with you?" I set my face in the most serious mask I could, but my hands were sweating. She looked at the table, thinking.

"You're house is completely gone?" She muttered after a few minutes, looking up a bit I nodded. she looked at her hands. "Well, if you help with food costs, I don't see why you couldn't just room with me. I mean you ARE there most of the time anyway." I could see the blush creep to her ears. I smiled inwardly.

"That sounds fair, but I have to take half the rent too." She looked at me quizzically for a moment and laughed. I felt good to know that she wanted to have us there, maybe she actually needed us there. "Oh before I forget, Erza may kill me in the morning so make sure to take care of Happy when I'm gone." I folded my arms over my chest. Lucy's shocked face was priceless.

"What did you do to her this time?" She sounded breathless.

"When I got back to the guild from the 'ruins' Erza asked me to stay with her and I told her that I prefer your couch to her armory." I shrugged. Lucy flushed again. "She was trying to force me into Gray's apartment, but that will be a cold day in hell." She snickered. I raised my eyebrow. Our drinks showed up. "SOOOOO how about Levy and Gajeel huh?" Her ears perked up, eyes bright.

"I know Levy's side. Poor thing doesn't know what to make of the situation, it's been rough since we got back." Lucy looked a little sad for her friend.

"So she likes him too." I muttered. Lucy looked up.

"What do you mean too?" She seemed excited now.

"Dragon slayers are complex, Luce. Have you not noticed how she is rarely out of his line of sight. And when he can't see her I'm sure he can smell her." I nodded to myself completely understanding the impulse now.

"Is that so, well then tomorrow should go smoothly." She grinned. "Levy is planning on confronting him." She looked proud, almost like a mini Mira. I shuttered. "That's where all the girls went this morning. We were getting her set up with the perfect date." She sighed dreamily.

"I see so that's why he stayed behind today. Usually he makes himself busy wherever she is. I think it's usually the book store." I put a hand to my chin then nodded agreeing with myself.

"I didn't know you two were such good friends." She raised an eye brow at me.

"Not friends really, he's more like a step brother that I go to for advice sometimes. Since we are both Dragon Slayers. I feel sorry for Wendy though.. I don't think the same rules apply for female dragons. Of course we will be there for her when the time comes." I finished off my Whiskey and hailed the waitress for another.

"That's sweet." Lucy said softly.

"It's no different from what the girls did for Levy today, it's just more like Wendy feels like a little sister to me. And from what I see she has her eyes on Romeo, but I think it's to early for her to make her choice." Lucy looked at me with a very serious stare. I laughed nervously. "You see Dragon Slayers are essentially Dragons in Human form, so we abide by Dragon nature. It's not something to take lightly. We only get one shot to get it right. Which is why we focus on fighting instead of things that normal guys do. Wendy on the other hand is a female, and by Nature she is allowed to have many mates. Though when she picks "the" mate she is bound for life. It's complicated for her." I shrugged sipping my whiskey. Lucy looked slightly taken back.

"So you're saying Gajeel has his eyes on Levy, permanently?" The shock in her voice was amusing.

"When Gajeel agrees to a partner that will be the first and last partner for him, the only one exempt from that rule is Laxus, because he is an artificial Dragon Slayer, so he is not bound by Dragon nature." I pushed my finger along the rim of the glass.

"Is that why you were researching dragons?" I paused for a second.

"Recently I have been feeling strange, you know wondering about things from my past, I talked to Gramps about it and I felt better. But a part of me still wants to know why Igneel took me in. And that fact that it wasn't just me, there are other who have been breed as dragons. I feel maybe we have a higher purpose in life." I sighed.

"That was kind of deep for you Natsu." she giggled.

"I know. Since I fought with Gildarts on the Island, I have been thinking, measuring my movements. I don't think it's a bad things. I haven't destroyed anything recently. Except my poor house. But Happy and I saved somethings before it was completely destroyed. They are back at the apartment." I smiled. I hadn't even noticed the food, till this points. I suddenly became aware of my own hunger and dug in.

"So that letter came on your birthday huh?" She looked up from her shake.

"Well I guess so." She muttered and embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

"Can I give you a late birthday present?" I smiled sheepishly. "It's already at the apartment." I rubbed my hand on the back of my head. She smiled shyly and nodded.

"I guess if it's from you I won't make a big deal, but don't tell anyone else, I said I don't want them making a big deal out of my birthday." I nodded, I kind of wanted it to be just between the two of us anyway.

"Are you ready?" I got up and paid the tab. I saw Lucy fumble with her pouch trying to put the tip on the table.

"I'm coming!" she ran up beside me and we headed out.

"Hey Luce, you know the same rules apply to me right." I put my hands behind my neck. She looked at the ground mumbling to low for me to hear.

"I figured that. So is the mate thing similar to Soul mates?" I looked over, and shrugged.

"What is that?" I was trying my best to be honest no matter how stupid I sounded.

"Two people connected by fate, I guess there are different ways to put it, my favorite has to be the red string though. You see in the story, the gods tie one end of the invisible red string to you and the other end to your Soul mate, the two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of time, place or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. They can also be called a twin flame." I liked the sound of that.

"I think it is similar." I shrugged, smiling to myself.

"There is just one thing I'm not sure about, that's why I had that list of books, I was hoping Levy could help me with the translations, but now that I know she will probably end up with Gajeel in the near future I might just get to ask him with out having to read more. Of course Levy is good for Gajeel, she calms him down a lot." Lucy laughed agreeing with me, suddenly she stopped in her tracks turning back to face me. "What's wrong Luce?" I was nervous about how tense her shoulders were.

"Do you think it goes both ways?" She whispered.

"What do you mean? Are you asking if Levy will be bound to Gajeel forever? Well that's the really complex part. She is human, so there are no rules for her. If she accepts then walks away she'll take his heart with her, you remember the way he was while he was a remember of Phantom Lord?" She shuttered. "At least there he had his pride, it's like breaking the faucet clean off. That's why we're super careful with this type of thing, and avoid it unless we are 100% certain the feelings are mutual." We had already gotten to the apartment. "After I talked with him today I figured he was going to make his move soon. Especially after what went down on the island. He was surprised how well they fought together. Fighting along side one of us is difficult, it takes a strong will to keep up." I smiled warmly.

"You picked me as your partner before we even went on a mission." She sat on the couch, and I took a seat on the floor.

"Not true. We fought Bora together, you used a spirit to get the boat to land, that was the best support I'd gotten since Happy came. Also when we went to help Macao" I smiled. "Plus you have more guts than you give yourself credit for. I made a good choice when I made you my first human partner, you are always there to back me up!" Her eyes seemed to glaze a little. I could smell the salty tears coming, but I wasn't worried this time, I knew they were happy tears. "Some times I think you're braver than Erza, you're quicker than Gray with strategy, and you help me keep my cool, if it were anyone else I would just burn them too." I took a deep breath and laid on the floor. I listened quietly to her breathing.

"I'm glad that you picked me too. I feel like I was able to get stronger because I was always doing my best to keep up with you. Sometimes I feel like a burden, but I know for some reason that you don't think like that about me, I feel safe to a point where I can push my own limits, and i know you'll be there to back me up if I over do it." She smiled weakly. There was a comfortable silence. I raise my head just a bit to look at her face.

"You look tired. I already showered at the guild you go ahead I'll wait up." I smiled, not moving from my spot on the floor. I heard her get up, moving toward the bath room. "Oh Luce, thank you." I turn to look at the door. She smiled and went to the bath room. I went to the sack I brought with me and pulled out the trinket I had bought Seven years ago. A simple gold necklace with a little gold key and heart. I knew when I saw it that it was meant for Lucy. I had N L engrave on the back of the heart. I smiled fondly at the fact that I could now understand why I was compelled to do something like this. I could hear the shower turn off. I wondered to myself if she was going to soak in the bath. It didn't matter honestly I wasn't tired or anything. I held the necklace up and thought about when I first saw it in the store. It was rare for me to go on missions with out the team anymore, but Lucy was sick and I knew I needed to do something to keep myself busy. I had walked past the store four times debating silently with myself about going in. When I saw the man hold up the necklace, my mind was made up for me. I didn't care how much it cost, I knew it would make her smile, and that was more important than anything.

I heard the door click, and pulled the necklace up into my hand. "you want your present now or should I save it a little longer?" I motioned for her to sit down. She sighed and gave me a look that said well-go-ahead-then. I grinned at her. "Close your eyes for a minute." She blushed but did what I asked. I knelled close to her, unclasping the necklace, then winding my hands behind her neck, I could feel her breath on my ear and it shot chills down my spine. I shuttered then sat back down. "ok you can open them." She touched the necklace and smiled sweetly. She turned the heart in her hand fingering the N L carved into it.

"When did you have time to get this?" She was breathless again.

"Before the exams, you got sick and I was bored. I saw it while I was out on my mission, and I didn't know when your birthday was so I picked it up, so that I would have it ready." I laid back down on my make shift bed.

"It's beautiful." She pulled herself under the covers. "Thank you Natsu." I closed my eyes, a satisfied grin on my face. It was nice to hear her say my name gently like that. I was so used to her yelling at me for being stupid. 'I could get used to this'

"Night Luce" I turned off her light, sprawled out on my mattress, completely satisfied with the situation.

"Night Natsu." She yawned, drifting off to sleep. 'Tomorrow is going to be fun.' 

I know, loads of fluff. But fluff is soooo good. Next time, Levy and Gajeel . are you excited? Cause I am!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Dragons promise

There was a sudden pounding on the front door. I mumbled turning back into my pillow. The pounding was there again. I rubbed my eyes and made my way to the door. I blinked hard at the light when I opened the door.

"NATSU! What are you doing here?" I looked down to see shock on Levy's face. I moved to the side so she could come into the house.

"I live here." I mumbled yawning. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide, her mouth gaping open.

"Where is Lu-chan?" She started to look around frantically. I shrugged and went back to my mattress, planting my face in my pillow. I heard a door creak open, and Levy sighed heavily.

"Oh Levy I'm sorry I overslept a bit." She was drying her hair. I could feel the tension in the air.

"So since when does he live here?" I'm not sure if she was excited or nervous.

"A couple days now." Lucy shrugged, I liked the way she was talking, like it was the most normal thing in the world. There was a fit of giggles and I couldn't pretend to sleep anymore.

"So what's the plan Luce, I wanna help." I put on my biggest pouty face. I was rewarded with a pat on the head.

"I have the perfect job for you." She gave me an evil smirk. I shifted a bit uncomfortably. "I need you to make sure Gajeel gets to the park on time, and if you can get him to comb his hair." I sighed, this meant I would have to spend the majority of my day with metal face.

"You're gonna stay near Levy right Luce?" I looked at the ground waiting for the answer. Levy giggled again.

"I will be helping with a lot of things today." She shrugged. She turned back to Levy with a grin. "Were you able to get Mira to agree?" Levy nodded enthusiastically. "I am so excited for you!" Lucy squealed, and I couldn't hold back the proud grin on my face.

"I'll head down to the guild to keep my eye on metal face. What time do you need him at the park?" I stood up ruffling my hand through my hair. Lucy put her finger on her chin thinking.

"Can you manage him till two?" There was a pleading look in her eyes.

"So long as you all stay away from the guild, I suppose you want it to be a surprise. He can be a hand full some times.. Can I get anyone else in on it?" Lucy seemed to be mulling it over to herself.

"Nothing having to do with fighting, got it. We need him in one piece. But you can enlist whom ever you need. Ok, commence Mission Iron and Ink!" Both girls giggled. I saluted and headed for the door. 'I dunno if I'll ever get used to using the door.'

It didn't take long for me to find Gajeel, he was keeping himself busy with iron scraps on the corner of the bar. I smiled, knowing he would be in for a real surprise later. "You look better today." Mira exclaimed gleefully. She set down a mug of whiskey for me.

"I feel better today. I'm not homeless anymore." I gave her a bright smile and swallowed the liquid in one gulp. "Gray!" I shouted he turned his head. "I need your help with something." I started walking towards him. I was aware of people gawking at me, but I ignored them. I took a seat next to Gray at the table he and Erza had been occupying. "Erza are you aware of what's going on today?" Her gaze told me that she didn't have a clue. I lowered my head talking softly. "We have a very important mission." I began to explain what the girls had been planning, fully aware that metal face was trying to catch every word, but I knew he couldn't make it out from where he was.

Erza's face lit up. "This sounds like fun." Erza turned to Gray who also seemed amused.

"No fighting though. I don't want to die today." Gray raised an eyebrow. "Lucy can be much scarier than Erza, you know that Gray." We both shuttered. "So I thought of getting Mira in on it too." Erza and Gray agreed. I made my way to the bar. "Mira I need some help with an errand Lucy and Levy asked me to do today." I knew Mira was in on the loop, and she smiled nodding letting me know she understood. "I only have till two to get it done though, do you know anyone who could possibly help me out?" I smirked as her eyes shifted to Gajeel.

"Well it depends on what you need to do." She said in an even tone.

"I need to pick up something VERY important for LEVY, and Erza and Gray already have something to take care of. And poor Lucy is getting dragged around the park by Levy. Lucy told me it's supposed to be a surprise for Levy and that I need to be on time or she will kill me." I tried to look visibly scared.

"Told you she would have you whipped." Gajeel had come in beside me munching some nails. He seemed amused by my little display.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey you could help me out couldn't you?" I tried to look hopeful. He glared at me for a long time.

"It's what, nine now, how long does it take to get this 'important thing'?" He was playing it cool, but I saw he was interested.

"I need to go a couple towns over, Luce said it was at a store we passed on our way back from our last mission." I lied, I knew that was the store where I had bought Lucy's necklace. "I just need to take care of something before we head out." I motioned to Mira to meet me at the storage area. "I need to use the Communication Lycrama to put an order in for Gajeel." I said simply. She nodded and led me to it. I smirked at my own ingenious plans.

"What can I do you you?" A man asked.

"I will be arriving with in the next 2 hours, and I need to see what bracelets you have available." He moved away from the screen momentarily and held up a black velvet square that held their selection of jewelry. I spotted one with books, and asked the man to hold it for me he agreed putting it under the name Levy.

"Ok! all set, let get this over with." He looked at me oddly, I just looked back at Mira. "I left Happy with Lucy, but don't be surprised if he comes here. Can you give him a fish if he does." Mira giggled, as she agreed. "I hate trains." I shuttered as we walked out toward the station.

"So what happened yesterday?" Gajeel seem to want to take his mind off what he was thinking.

"We talked." I said weakly. He chuckled at how green I had become. 'I wish that Luce was here instead of Metal head' I thought. The ride was unpleasant but it was short, thankfully.

"Now that you're feeling better, what did you talk about?" He didn't waste much time. I sighed as I steady myself on solid ground.

"She asked questions and I answered the best I could. I guess we spent a lot of time talking about fate and a red string." I shrugged, Gajeel seem to be more interested. "Are you looking for a smart thing to say when you confront Levy?" I shot him and amused smile. He crossed his arms over his chest and simply nodded, with a muffled laugh.

"So what is this String thing?" He asked trying hard to keep up his nonchalant exterior.

"Luce said it's a string that gets tied to partners that binds them no matter what. I can't be broken by anything. She said that those people are called soul mates, but i liked it better when she said that two people bound by fate are twin flames, it sounds more dragonish." I smirked at him. He seemed to be thinking hard nodding his head. "Hey we're here." I pointed to the jewelry store.

"Hello there! You are early." The old man behind the counter glanced at me, pulling the bracelet out.

"I was wondering if you had anything that matches that bracelet." I caught Gajeel staring at a necklace that looked similar to the one I gave Lucy. "Gajeel, a present makes things go smoother when dealing with females." I whispered. He nodded asking the man to see the necklace. He seem to be in awe of the detail on the tiny book. I paid for the bracelet, thanking the old man. Gajeel did the same. We made our way back to the train. "Are you nervous about talking it out with her?" I leaned against a pole waiting for the train. Gajeel sighed.

"It's not like me to act this way." He seemed slightly disgusted with himself.

"It's not a bad thing, feelings make us stronger, they give us a purpose." Again something that was very unlike myself to say. I shook my head. "I explained Dragon nature to Lucy." I looked at him to see he was shocked.

"And how did she react." He seemed hopeful now.

"She was full of questions, but didn't seem to mind. I am taking my time before I make up my mind, but the same impulse that made you buy that necklace is the one I feel with her." I rubbed my neck. "You should have faith in your instincts, Levy is an awesome person. I know that she sees you in the same light." I shot him and encouraging smile. It was nice to talk openly with out worrying what others were thinking.

"I think I'll explain it to her." He seemed calmer.

"You may not have to, Lucy is her best friend and I'm sure they talked for a while after I left home." Gajeel gaped at me.

"What do you mean?" he was almost at a loss for words.

"Since we got back, I've been with Lucy. When my house collapsed yesterday she said that she wanted me to stay permanently. So I was there this morning when Levy came over. Hence being the errand boy." I pointed to the pouch. He laughed hitting his hands on his knee.

"Taking your time my ass." he manages to get out after a couple minutes. I shrugged, the smile never leaving my face.

"Your jealous." I pointed my finger in his direction. He stopped abruptly.

"Maybe a little, but I hope to fix that soon." He stood tall before getting on the train. 'Good.' I got on the train and settled into my sickly stupor.

We headed back to the guild, I made sure to keep my distance from the park, just in case. "It's only noon." I stretched. "I think some lunch sounds good, you in Gajeel?" He seemed to be fixated on the necklace. "Wanna come with me to meet up with the girls at two?" He stopped for a second.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready now." He ruffled my hair and we continued into the guild.

"Mira~ I'm hungry!" I took my place at the bar. She smiled brightly heading off to get me some lunch. Erza slipped in beside me. I turned to her a big grin plastered to my face. "I should get this over with now I guess." Erza looked confused. "I am living with Lucy permanently." Gray who was a few feet away choked on his ice cream.

"What do you mean." Erza said in a low dangerous voice. I steadied myself, prepared for a punch to the face.

"I said Lucy asked me to stay permanently." The guild was silent, Mira unaware of the conversation placed a plate of food in front of me.

"Here Natsu! Um, what's wrong Erza?" She looked back and fourth between the two of us.

"You can do what ever you want Erza, but my mind is made up. That is where I belong." I turned to my food, noticing Gray flush with anger. I had realized a while ago that he held feelings for Lucy too. I knew this was a source of pain, which was another reason it needed to be out in the open. "Luce is my best friend." I continued. I looked towards Mira who was smiling like a child on Christmas morning.

"I knew I was right." She chimed in.

"Aye!" Happy appeared besides me. "Lucy needs us, she was so sad when we weren't there." Happy piped up. "Especially after her papa died." Happy looked at his feet.

Erza seemed shocked that Happy was making sense. "I have no intention of leaving her alone, especially since she asked me to stay. Even if my house hadn't been destroyed I would still be there." I looked at Erza who was blushing, and Gray who looked defeated. "Not one word about the fact that we told you about her dad got it. If either of you make her cry I will be the one you deal with." My words were harsh and cold. I turned back to my meal, eating slower than usual. When I was finished I noticed that Erza was beside me with a slice of cake.

"I wasn't aware you felt that strongly." She whispered. I took a deep breath.

"Neither was I." I put my hands on the back of my neck. "But after everything that has happened, it's become hard to ignore it." I turned to Gray with a forced smile. "I'm sorry, I was hoping you would get around to it before I became hopeless. But I don't think there is any way around it now." He seemed to flush again.

"She knew you were interested a long time ago, you know what Gemini's power is right. Well, after her fight with Angel, she knew." I looked down at the table. "I'm sort of glad she never thought to use that against me." I breathed out a heavy sigh. "I have a feeling that would have been problematic." Everyone eyed him suspiciously.

"Showering, Reading, being helpful. I haven't seen you fight in almost a week... and now you are using large words. Are you sure you aren't sick?" Gray shot me heated glare.

"It's in my nature, just like Wendy and Gajeel. We are different from you and Erza. You are free to chose anyone any time you want to. You can do anything you want, but MY nature rules over my senses, and as Gajeel so pleasantly puts it, I am whipped." I shrugged, I didn't mind being like this so long as Lucy was happy.

"So you're saying this is more than just moving into her apartment." Ezra kept her voice low.

"For me yeah. It's an overwhelming need to protect Lucy. And before you say I can do that from any where I need you to understand, I can't. It literally hurts to be even this far away. When I asked if I could do anything to help I didn't think she would send me off... I know the same hurt fills Gajeel when Levy is out of his 'zone'. It's more intense than anything a normal person can feel." I took another deep breath. "Can I get my usual.. make it a double Mira." Erza seemed to be thinking hard again.

"And Lucy.." I took the mug from Mira with a smile, turning toward Erza again.

"She hasn't said anything like that yet. And this is to important to rush those type of statements out of either of us." I interrupted. She nodded I guessed that she was trying to make sense of this. "It is complicated, and I am just letting her take the wheel. Nothing is going to go forward with out her saying so." I looked into my mug realizing that I was sad that it would probably take a long time. "Right now, the best I can do is make sure she has what she needs. Like Gramps said to me yesterday, she depends on me more than I ever noticed, and I will not let her down. If you can't accept the situation I already warned her that you might beat me to a pulp. I'm prepared." I drank down what was left in my mug.

"You are serious?" she remarked louder. I looked at her seriously and nodded. "I'm not exactly sure how to put this, but if you hurt her I will make you wish you were dead." Erza stood.

"Hurting her, would be the same as hurting myself Erza." I said sadly. She patted my shoulder.

"I know how that feels." She whispered to me. "I won't stand in your way." She gave me a sweet smile and asked Mira for another piece of cake.

I stood up. "Bout time to head out. I don't think I'll be back tonight, Happy are you coming?" He shot off the bar and landed on my head. "You comin'" I motioned to Gajeel, he nodded. I took a deep breath and walked out the door.

"Are you ready, we are a few minutes early." I put my back against the tree, looking up at the bright cloudless sky. I heard Gajeel mutter that he didn't need to hear that from a flame brain like me. I smiled, knowing that he was grateful to not be alone. It wasn't long before the air was filled with the scent of the two females we had been waiting for. The tight feeling that had resided in my chest all day eased up. I shot Gajeel a smile when I noticed his shoulders weren't as tense either.

"Lucy! Over here." I called out, she was close enough that I could hear pieces of their conversation. They made their way over to us. I walked over handing the pouch to Lucy, "This is supposed to be from you to Levy." I whispered in her ear. She smiled at me.

"So you were able to get it! Thank you!" She giggled, turning to Levy. "Since I won't be able to finish my novel before your birthday I decided to give you this as a tide me over." She handed the small pouch to Levy, who beamed with joy. Levy squealed when she saw the bracelet hugging Lucy tightly.

"This is sooo cute Lu-chan. Look the little book charm opens too!" She was over joyed.

"Well, I have to get back to clean up the apartment, Natsu, are you coming?" Lucy turned to leave. I shuffled over to Gajeel for a second.

"Just keep your cool." I breathed before running to catch up with Lucy. "Everything is set up right?" I whispered. She was smiling so brightly I just wanted to hug her, but restrained myself. "Did you tell Levy what I said to you last night?" I kept my voice low.

"She was just as curious as I was. I think she is going to ask him for a more detailed description." Lucy was nearly giddy with excitement.

"Are we really going home, I know Mira is probably staking them out by now." That got me a short laugh.

"I'm not Mira, Levy can do it on her own, I helped as much as a friend should. Besides they deserve to take their time talking it out." Her voice was so proud, her eyes sparkling, lite up with laughter. I was so happy to be by her side again. "What was with the bracelet?" she seemed more that curious.

"I needed to keep him busy so I took him out of town under the pretense of me running an errand. I'm glad I took him to the shop though, he found a very nice present for her." I seemed to be getting a lot right recently. It felt good to be this useful. I saw her hand reach for the heart around her throat, she turned to smile at me. "Time to head home right? I want to take a nap, all the stubborn people I've had to deal with today has given me a head ache." I closed my eyes rubbing my temples.

"I see Erza left you in one piece." She commented cheerfully.

"I presented a clear compelling argument, besides I think if anyone were to actually murder me it would be Gray." I mumbled. "But I think I shut him down as well."Lucy sighed, opening the door. I crashed on the couch, drifting off for a bit.

When I opened my eyes I was suprised at what I saw. Erza was seated in the chair across from me, Gray leaning on the wall only a few steps from the door. "Ah you're up, good." Erza seemed a bit nervous.

"Why are you guys here?" I rubbed my eyes.

"I wanted to give this to you, Master told me that it might be helpful." She handed me a thick book that seemed to have a dark leather binding. "He said you should probably share it with Gajeel soon." Erza flushed. I was confused for a second, then opened the book. I scanned the pages, my eyes wide with shock.

"Where did Gramps get this?" I hissed jumping up. Erza seemed taken with my reaction. Gray raised an eyebrow, and I caught Lucy heading out from the kitchen.

"He didn't say, only told us to give it to you and metal face." Gray snorted. I shot him a deadly glare, he seemed to back down.

"What time is it?" I looked around frantically.

"It's about 4, Natsu what's wrong?" Lucy said from the door jam.

"Where were Levy and Gajeel going Luce? This is really important." I couldn't catch my breath.

"That cafe by the cathedral, they are probably still there." I slipped on my sandals and headed towards the door.

"I wish this had come to me sooner. If I'm to late they could both die." I turned and ran out the door. I knew there was I reason I held myself back, and here in my hands was that reason. Complex is a nice way of putting the situation. Gajeel didn't know what he was getting into, I would need to get there and pray he was still being shy. I ran full speed, when I managed to get to the restaurant I saw Gajeel's hand on the other side of the glass door. I pulled it open. "We need to talk, NOW." I grabbed his arm yanking him away from Levy who looked very confused.

"What the Hell." He yanked his arm out of my grip. I passed him the book.

"Tell me you didn't do anything yet." I was livid, how could a rule like this exist? How was this fair for Igneel not to tell me. Gajeel's eyes widened.

"Are you serious.." He stuttered out. "Thank god I didn't say anything yet." I could see him flipping through the pages.

I went out of the alley, grabbing the confused Levy and calling Gajeel. We headed back to the apartment.

I placed myself on the couch, head in my hands. Gajeel had given the book to Levy, very much against his better judgment. Lucy had taken a seat on the floor next to Levy, eyes wide while they read, the disturbing text.

"So when it says one can't survive without the other it means, a sensory link, and if we don't do it right it'll kill both of us." Levy looked up eyes full of hope and fear.

"I think it's more complicated that that..." Lucy said in a low voice. Gajeel shifted his weight against the door.

"You weren't kidding when you said this was complex." Both girls chimed at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.

"There are stages." I said slowly and quietly.

"If the stages aren't completed properly, both parties die." Gajeel finished. The room fell silent.

"If Gramps had this why didn't he hand it over sooner!" I was livid. I could have hurt Lucy with out even realizing it. I was very glad that I had made it in time, but now that this was out in the open, I had to face facts.

"Levy do you have any new marks on you?" I refused to look up from the floor. I heard shuffling, and Lucy's whispered voice instructing Levy to look at herself in the bathroom. It was a few minutes before the girls came back.

"There is a mark." Lucy sounded sad.

"You're with her more often, does she smell different?" I looked over at Gajeel who was tense as anything. He looked at me hesitantly and nodded. "Well Levy there is no backing out now." I shook my head sadly. Lucy looked at me confused. "Luce what shape was the mark." Her eyes got wider.

"It's hard to describe." She held Levy's hand tightly. I pointed to my chest, raising my brow, Lucy understood that I was asking if it was where I pointed, she nodded yes.

"That is stage 2." I said coolly. "You should have to same one since you have accepted." He looked under the think layer of his shirt and nodded. "Be very careful, Levy. Now that you know what you need to do next. I'm so sorry, if I had known.." I put my head in my hands again. Erza patted my head.

"I want this." Levy said in a small voice. Gajeel and I both picked our heads up. We looked at each other. "It's not like anything I've ever felt before, it is intense almost burning, it's a little scary. But I know I can handle it." She stood up. "We should go now." She put her hand out for Gajeel, and he took it. Lucy gave her a weak smile and said her good byes. Gray glared at me, while Erza's eyes were filled with concern.

"So what are you gonna do now that you know?" Erza tried not to look me in the eye. Lucy sat down next to her, deep in thought.

"I told you that earlier. I'm not in control of this." I breathed out almost pained. I heard Gray shift, and the next thing I knew his fist collided with the side of my head. I wasn't going to try to block, I wanted him to hurt me. I wanted to be punished to being so unprepared. I could hear Erza yelling, I could smell the tears coming from both girls. It seemed like a lifetime before they managed to get Gray off of me. His eyes were cold and angry.

"How dare you say you have no control!" He seethed through gritted teeth.

"ENOUGH!" Lucy was crying, she slapped Gray across the face. "Just stop it." She fell to her knees. I wanted to go to her, but I held myself back.

"I think it's time for you fess up Natsu, show it to her." Erza commanded. I glared at her, anger raising in my stomach.

"She doesn't need this right now." I seethed. "Especially not with you guys here." I growled towards Gray. I hadn't noticed Lucy had moved, she was standing beside me. she grabbed my hand and put it against her chest. I could feel the raised mark over her heart. I looked at the smile on her face. "Are you sure." Was All I could bring myself to say. She just smiled.

**HEHEHE some fun chapters to come . can't wait till they figure out what the Mark is for ^_^ Till next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : Dragon's Mark.

My breath caught in my throat. I had never been good with words, but this left me speechless and breathless. "Are you sure." echoed through the air. I couldn't make my self look away from the warmth in her sweet brown eyes. I was vaguely aware of the door opening and closing. I could feel Lucy's heart beat steady and even under my fingers. Her smile was enchanting.

"When?" I whispered weakly.

She lowered herself to sit on the floor in front of me. "Since we met." She said softly. "I denied it at first, but after Edolas I couldn't lie to myself any more. Then this showed up a few days ago." I was shocked at how calm she seemed. I let my hand fall, in return she reached up pushing my vest to the side. "It looks different than Levy's." She giggled.

"Your so clam." I said slowly, she raised an eyebrow tilting her head to look at me curiously. "Why are you so calm?" She took her hand from my chest, resting it on my cheek.

"Idiot, isn't that obvious." Her eyes danced with laughter, smiling warmly up at me. "You're the best thing in my life. I would feel empty with out you." I closed my eyes, nuzzling into her hand. I took a deep breath, attempting to regain my courage. "You said, you wouldn't give in unless you were 100% positive that the feelings were mutual right?" She grabbed my hand placing it back on her heart. "The mark is your proof. The instant we were both sure we marked each other." My vision started to clear, something finally clicked in my head.

"Luce.." She cut me off with a finger.

"Just cause there are stages doesn't mean we need to do anything differently. We don't need to take forever, and we don't need to rush. Natsu, I'm no different from you, the way I lived before I left home there was never a need to feel things like this. Though I am still a girl and girls dream about Prince Charming." I snickered.

"I am most definitely not a prince charming." I tried not to laugh out loud. Lucy sighed, nodding.

"Nope you're a dragon, it's like the story is backwards. Instead of getting saved by a prince I get rescued by a dragon." I nuzzled deeper into her hand. "Why was Gray upset when you said you weren't in control anymore?" My eyes narrowed a bit.

"His pride was hurt, I told them earlier that I wouldn't do anything until you said it was ok. I told them that I was giving you complete control." I looked down for a minute.

"That explains why Erza didn't kill you, but not why Gray tried to." she gave me the cute pouting lip treatment, I gave in almost immediately.

"He is angry that you are choosing me over him. He is even angrier that I told him I had left him an opening, and a great opportunity to steal you. He is just jealous right now, he'll get over it. Maybe this will make him stop being so cold to Juvia. No matter what he does, you are not available any more." I gave her an evil smirk.

"Is that so." She just smirked back. "So Natsu, how many stages are there anyway?" She picked herself up and sat on the couch next to me.

"I'm pretty sure that there are only four. The first was protection, the second is acceptance, the third is the promise. The last and most important is the vow." I looked down at the book on the floor "I wonder why Gramps knew we needed that." I looked to Lucy.

"I went to see Master yesterday. I told him about the the mark, since I wasn't sure what caused it to suddenly appear. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he told me he'd try to help." She smiled shyly.

"I'm so glad you are good at using your head." I hugged her around the waist. In return she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer.

"So what type of promise is it?" She whispered against my ear. Her warm breath sent a shiver down my spine. I could feel that fuzzy warmth starting to spread out from my stomach, quicker than the it had before.

"The book isn't specific, but I guess it's similar to an engagement." I whispered back. I could feel her shiver under my arms, I was satisfied that I elicited the same reaction from her.

"So the vow would be similar to marriage, then?" She was breathing harder than normal. I nodded.

"I've already given you my promise." I pointed to the necklace, her hand raised, rubbing the engraving affectionately.

"I suppose I've accepted your promise." She breathed soft in my ear. "So all that's left is the vow." Her lips brushed my ear lobe, sending another wave of shivers down my spin. The fuzzy warmth was starting to build pressure, I couldn't seem to get myself to breath evenly anymore.

"Are you ready for that?" I let my lips brush her ear as well, her breath caught and her body tensed for a moment. I tightened my grip on her waist. She pulled back for a second, searching my face.

"I want to do it right away." she had a serious look in her eyes, I stared back searching for a few minutes.

"Lets go talk to Gramps." I stood up taking a deep breath.

"Let's clean you up first." For a few moments I had forgotten everything else. I was confused at first but then it came back, Gray had punched me repeatedly in the face not that long ago. I nodded and went to the she bathroom, the cold water felt good against my bruised skin. I took note that my temple was a bit swollen, my bottom lip was ripped open, all in all the damage wasn't that bad considering the circumstance. Lucy put a bandage on my temple, and some ointment on my lip. Her fingers felt like heaven against my rough skin. I sighed, grabbing the cook on the way out.

When we got to the guild I noticed Levy sitting by Mira at the bar, Lucy smiled at me then went to join her friend. I on the other hand had spotted my first target. I walked fast, fist pulled back and landed a clean blow to the side of Gray's head. "Don't EVER attack someone in their own HOME Gray." I yelled as he flew into a near by post. "If you EVER do it again I'll put you in the hospital for a month." I turned on my heels and made my way to Mira, Levy and Lucy.

"Was that really called for?" Levy said shocked.

"Yes it was." Lucy answered for me. Levy looked at Lucy shocked. Everyone knew Lucy hated it when we fight. Mira on the other hand just giggled. "Mira we need to speak with Master." Lucy turned to look at the bar maid. Mira's giggles died out, her smile faltering at the seriousness in Lucy's tone.

"He's in his office." She answered before turning, apparently deciding to go back to her chores. I shook my head watching her act as if the conversation hadn't happened, handing out mugs of beer with a huge smile. I grabbed Lucy's hand, leading her to Gramps' office. I knocked twice before pushing the door open.

"Ah you two, was the book I found helpful?" I caught a glimmer of hope in his old eyes, and smiled.

"Yeah, actually I have a request though." Gramps raised his brow and motioning for us to sit down. "Can you call back all the guild members for an event?" A grin spread wide across my face.

"Well then, it seems you two caught on quicker than I anticipated. I'll do my best, so how long till the event?" He questioned hoping down off his desk.

"One week." Gramps looked at Lucy, mouth gaping, one hand on the door knob.

"That is quick." He commented.

"We've waited long enough." Lucy stood up a very serious smile on her face, eyes full of determination. Gramps put his hands together.

"I guess we have a lot of work to do." He turned back and opened the door making his way to Mira. "Mira, I need you to start calling back all the guild member who are out, let them know they have one week to get back here." Mira's eyes widened in shock. I grabbed Lucy's hand again. "After you are done that, we need to start getting the guild ready, we are having a wedding!"

There was a wave of murmurs though the guild, I tightened my grip, Lucy squeased back sending me a happy smile. Levy bobbed into view, she grabbed Lucy's free arm. "You don't waste any time do you Lu-chan!" She squealed happily.

"There is no time to waste Levy-chan. This is just a formality, especially with who is involved. I just wish my Dad was still around to see this." Her eyes clouded for a moment, but she blinked back the tears. I reached up and patted her head, a proud smile shining down at her. I looked over to Levy and noticed the necklace, my smile grew.

"Looks like you're not that far behind, Levy-CHAN." I commented pointing to Lucy's necklace. Levy blushed and I snickered at her. I noticed Erza pushing her way though to us. I took notice that Gray seemed to be sulking in the back with one of his ice sculptures.

"That was quick." Erza commented.

"When you know, what's the point in waiting?" Lucy smiled, seeming to sparkle with happiness. Erza seemed satisfied by Lucy's reply. "Erza, Levy, I don't have any blood sisters, so I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my brides maids as my guild sisters?" Lucy's eyes were pleading. Immediately both girls beamed, stealing Lucy's hands.

"OF COURSE!" The both giggled.

Erza giggling was a bit disturbing, but I bit back the need to run away screaming. "Oh, I got a letter this morning from my Father's Lawyer. It seems Papa left me some things in his will. I was wondering if Levy and Erza could go with me to take care of it." She turned to me, a sad smile on her face. I noticed Erza and Levy both nodding.

"I have a lot to take care of here, so I think that's a good idea, is it ok with you if I stay behind this time?" I asked knowing she wanted me to stay behind this time.

"Yeah, I have some girl things to take care of with my lovely brides maids!" She kissed my cheek and walked away with the other two, chattering happily. An arm wrapped round my shoulder.

"So stage four, you're taking it REALLY slow I see." Gajeel seemed to enjoy his taunting.

"Hey I held onto my promise for over seven years. I saw Levy accepted YOURS awfully quick though." I smiled brightly at him. "Hey I need a groomsmen, you'd do it for me right?" I asked tentatively.

"Does that mean I have to wear a monkey suit?" He sighed.

"It'll be good practice for your own." I pointed out, elbowing him in the gut.

"Who else are you asking?" He raised an eyebrow. 'Huh, who else should I ask?' My mind jumped to two men who were the closest to Lucy and myself.

"Gray or Loke." I shrugged. "I don't think either is happy that I am taking Lucy away though." I brushed my hand through my hair. I sighed and made my way to Gray. I hesitantly sitting down with a mumbled greeting, he mumbled one back. We sat quietly for a while, both looking down. Eventually I couldn't take the silence anymore. "I'm sorry man, I didn't want to take her from you." I started.

"Why did you just let me hit you, you didn't even block once?" He looked up at me, I could tell he felt guilty.

"I deserved the first punch." I said with out looking up.

"You looked so torn up, the rage just took over and I couldn't stop myself. I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have done that." Gray's eyes were filled with sadness and remorse. I put my hand across the table.

"We both went overboard. I was being insensitive earlier today. Lets put it behind us." He looked at me skeptically but accepted my hand. "Hey Gray I know this my be a touchy topic right now, but I'm in need of a close friend to be one of my groomsmen. I would really like it to be you." His eyes widened for a minute then he looked at his hands. I took a deep breath, about to excuse myself when he spoke up.

"So you are serious about this?" I nodded, keeping my eyes fixed on his. "Well, I guess if Lucy is happy I have no right to deny your request. If Lucy is happy nothing else matters." Those words stung, I knew he had liked her, but that was near the same devotion I felt toward her.

"DRINKS FOR EVERYONE!" Gramps beamed from the bar.

Gray and I started laughing. Mira was prancing around giving out mugs. She handed Gray and myself one each, chanting happily to herself. "I knew it! I told you they would end up together! I am sooo good at this!" She danced away from our table. Soon I was getting pats on the back, and praise from all the guys in the guild. Macao who was already very drunk started making kissy faces at me. I shook my head, continuing to drink and sing merrily with my friends. Happy fluttered down on the table beside me, fish in hand, a bright smile on his face.

"I told you they Liiiiiike each other." We all laughed, and I patted Happy on the head.

"Yes Happy, yes you did." I ruffled his fur a little. "You are very smart." He smiled up at my comment.

"I'm going to stay at Wendy's again!" He chimed, flying back to Charle grinning like crazy. I nodded with a smile. I continued to drink, laughing with my friends, after a while I lost could of how many Mira had put in front of me. The room was starting to tilt on it's axis. I suddenly heard Lucy call my name, and I grinned.

"Natsu, I'm heading home, where is Happy?" I turned a bit in my seat.

"He decided to go home with Wendy a while ago." I moved to stand up and found my legs were not cooperating. I felt Lucy's arm wrap around my waist steadying my footing. I grinned at her. "Lets go home." I whispered. It was a quiet walk, but not an uncomfortable one. I was rather enjoying draping my arms around my beautiful Luce. I enjoyed the intensity of the burning in my stomach. When we made it into the apartment, Lucy put me down on the couch. It seemed the alcohol I had that night was lowering my ability to restrain myself, I couldn't help but to brush my fingers clumsily through the soft strands of her hair. I pulled her into a tight hug, the abrupt movement allowed a gasp to escape her lips, a familiar shiver ran down my spine. I leaned forward laying my head against her soft shoulder, burying my nose in her neck. 'God she has no idea how hard it's been to stay away from her.' I was a bit surprised that she hadn't protested, maybe she had been drinking as well. I inhaled deeply, allowing her scent to fill my lungs. I laid a light kiss before pulling away, some what regaining my senses.

"You have a long day tomorrow. It's best we leave it here tonight." She looked as disappointed as I felt, but i knew it had to be done. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You wanted to do this the right way, and I'm going to make sure you get what you want. It's probably best If I stay over here for the week." I pointed to the couch. She got up grumbling to herself. Unfortunately I didn't catch what she was saying as my lids slid closed. I drifted off into the land of sweet dreams.

Next chapter will be Lucy's POV! till then!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Lawyers and dresses

Lucy's POV

I felt the sunlight hit my face. With a yawn I got out of bed, heading for my shower. I let the hot water run over my sore muscles, enjoying the roar of rushing water in my ears. With a releaved sigh I turned the water off, drying myself off. With a towel wrapped tightly around my body I started my daily routine. Once I had finished brushing my teeth and combing my hair, I slipped into a sleeveless black top, and white Capri pants.

I glanced in the mirror, catching sight of the gold chain around my neck, a small smile spread across my face. I sat on my bed, pulling on my new boots. I made my way to the table next to my desk, grabbing my thick black belt wrapping it around my waist. I expertly fasted my whip, key pouch and money pouch settling them against my thighs. The weight was comforting.

I opened the pouch for a second taking note of how much money I had left, smiling satisfied that I would have plenty for the trip, I made my way over to the closet and pulled out the jacket my father had sent me. I walked to the mirror as I pulled it on, 'Dad really did have good taste, But I kind of wish it had been pink or black." I admired my reflection as I fastened the little key shaped buttons. I pulled the chain out to rest in front of my close. My finger automatically moved to the engraving, tracing it lovingly. The box of barrettes lay on the table next to my mirror, I looked through finding a simple black ribbon, and tied it to a piece of my hair, allowing most of my golden locks to trail around my shoulders.

I looked across the apartment to the living room where Natsu was sprawled, half on the couch half on the floor. I stifled a giggle as I walk over to him. I smiled remembering the drunken conversation we held in the middle of the night, he was obviously sound asleep, but just kept talking to me. Bending over I placed a small kiss on his forehead. His eyes fluttered open slowly.

"I'm heading out, you can move to the bed if you want." He stretched with a wide yawn.

"Early." He grumbled as he went to stand up shielding his eyes from the light. I laughed, causing him to turn towards me. I smiled at him softly, hooking my arms around his neck. "How long will you be gone?" His voice was heavy, eyes down cast.

"It depends on legal papers, but we should be back before tomorrow night." He wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck. I slowly lead him back toward the bed room, Natsu didn't protest, laying small kisses along the line of my chin. I had to get going and that would definitely not happen if he didn't let go. Swiftly I knocked him off his sleepy legs back onto the bed, and turned my back. "You should get some more sleep." I walked over to the pack I had placed by the door.

"I'll miss you." He whispered, shooting me puppy eyes that melted my heart. I walked back planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I'll miss you too. Natsu, behave while I'm gone ok? I told Mira everything we need to get done so listen to her, and don't let Happy scratch up the walls. OH and NO fire inside the apartment." I shook my finger at his pouting face and laughed. "I'm off." I turned walking towards the door. As I stepped out, I could already feel my chest tighten, I couldn't let myself turn around, this was something I need to take care of on my own. 'I am brave, I can face this head on!" I chanted to myself with each step I took toward the train station.

Erza and Levy were already waiting for me on the platform. "Hey guys!" I waved smiling at my best female friends. They in return smiled brightly back and caught me in a Lucy sandwich. I laughed as they both let go. We didn't have to wait long to board the train, we quickly settled into out seats as the train began to move.

"So the necklace is like an engagement ring?" Erza lifted her brow at Levy's question. I smiled and nodded at Levy.

"You know what's really funny?" They both looked curiously in my direction. "Ours are from the same jeweler. Turns out that Natsu dragged Gajeel with him to get your bracelet, and Gajeel ended up buying your 'Promise' there. The really funny part is that Natsu bought mine over seven years ago." Erza and Levy looked at each other for a moment.

"I didn't realize it went back to before the exams." Erza said, seriousness seeping in under her smile.

"The way he explained it, he couldn't help himself when he saw it, at the time he wasn't aware why he was so driven to get it." I smiled. "Turns out he will answer anything while he's asleep." Levy and I giggled.

"That still sweet that he held onto it for you." Levy sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Well down to business, do you know what colors you are going with?" Erza leaned her head on the back of her hand looking over to me.

"I talked to Mira about it last night. We are going black and gold with red flowers. I think it suits us." Levy raised a brow.

"No pink? I was expecting you to say Pink and white, Lu-chan." Erza mirrored her suprise. I slowly shook my head.

"I Like it when we match, hence why I'm not wearing my usual clothes." Levy smirked. I shrugged with a smirk of my own.

We spent the rest of the ride going over our game plan. We continued our conversation as we exited the train.

"Hey Lu-chan you know Natsu asked Gajeel to be a groomsmen right?" I raised my eyebrow at Levy. "Guess he didn't mention that." I giggled at her nervous expression.

"They are closer than they let on, I was sort of expecting it." She nodded.

"Gray accepted his request as well." Erza said in a very soft voice. I couldn't hold back my shocked expression. He had been so angry yesterday. I was torn between happiness for having another one of my precious friends involved in my special day, and nervous that my fiance and he would go at it for real next time. I stopped mid thought, and smiled at my use of the word fiance.

"Happy is obviously our Ring bearer. I wonder if Charle would agree to be the flower girl." I mused. Levy made a silly face and we laughed.

"Do you think Lily with mind not being included?" Erza asked. I thought for a minute, then shook my head.

"I'll ask everyone when we get home." We all smiled.

We continued to talk and laugh while we walked. It didn't take long to get to the lawyer's office. I took a deep breath, knocking on the door twice before entering.

"Ah, Miss Lucy, am I right? I have been expecting you." He was a cheerful looking man, His pure silver hair was pulled tightly with a ribbon at the base of his neck, his features were well aged, but I could see the gentle nature in his aging eyes. I smiled offering him my hand.

"Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Lafter." He motioned for us to take our seats. Levy and Erza stayed protectively close behind me. He seem to take a moment to observe them then turned back to me.

"Your father left you a record lycrima, would you prefer to watch alone?" I smiled grateful that he was getting straight to the point.

"It is fine, my friends are here to support me." He nodded, reaching for the draw of his desk, he handed the lycrima over to me. It came to life, my father's face smiling up at me.

"Lucy dear, I have decided to re-write my will after the incident in Acrifa. I finally realized something, you have grown to be more like your mother. And it made me think that maybe you were right. Though I don't have much anymore, everything that I own will be passed to you, no conditions. It was heartless of me to put the condition that you needed to be married to inherit on you. I see how much I was hurting you. I know this won't make up for it, but among my most precious possessions are your mother's wedding gown and her favorite hair pin. I hope that when the day comes that you will get married I can give these to you myself, though if it come to pass that I am no longer able Mr. Lafter has the key to the vault where they are stored away safely. I just want you to know how proud of you I am. And since you are watching this, I guess this is goodbye. I love you Lucy, be strong and live your life well."

The lycrima cut off. Tears were stinging my eyes, I could feel two sets of hands holding my own, soft sobbing coming from either side. I smiled sadly at my friends, letting a tear roll down my cheek.

"After you disappeared, your Father asked me to hold out for at least two years after his death before giving up looking for you. Since I was able to find you only a month after his passing, I took the liberty of bringing the vaults contents here. There isn't much, but I feel that they are his true treasures in life. He has also left you a total of 20,000,000 jewels." My breath caught at the back of my throat. He smiled at me sadly. "Your father was a good man, I was lucky to count him among my friends. Please take what he has bequeathed and live a happy life for him." I nodded standing up and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Thank you." I whispered, half to the lawyer, and half to my father.

We spent the night in a hotel, the girls gave me my space to grieve, and I was happy to have them there. We soaked in the hot spring, and relaxed for longer than we needed. After I was sure they were both asleep I pulled out the lycrima, and listened to my father's words once again. I allowed myself to cry out all my sadness, tomorrow I would return home and start a new life. The ride home was quiet, Erza and Levy kept shooting me worried glance, and I just smiled back at them.

As the train pulled up to Magnolia, I smiled. "It feels good to be home." Levy and Erza agreed, giving me a tight hug. "Lets take this stuff to my place then we can head to the guild." they each took hold of the boxes they were charged with. I held mine close to my chest, happy to have a piece of my mother.

I was barely through the door to the guild when two blurred forms rushed at me screaming "LUCY~~~!" I smiled as they knocked me to the ground. There were cheers and laughter in the air. "Are you ok? Your back earlier than you said, is everything ok?" Natsu gripped my face in his hands, worried eyes searching my face, I just smiled.

"Everything is fine, Natsu." I reached up and ruffled my hand through his hair. He released the breath he seemed to have been holding. I giggled and pushed him off. Happy didn't release his hold on my hair, whimpering that he missed me. I patted his head as well allowing him to stay.

I got up and walked to Mira. "So my father left my mother's wedding gown to me, could you and Lissanna help me with making it fit?" I leaned my elbows on the bar. Mira's eyes lit up.

"Wearing your Mother's gown! That is sooooo Romantic!" Lissanna giggled. I gave her a sweet smile.

"Of course we will help you Lucy-chan!" Mira seemed to be on cloud nine. I felt a warm arm wrap itself around my shoulder, and I smiled up at Natsu. I snuggled into the warmth of his arms.

"I'm glad your back early." He breathed only for me to hear. I nodded, resting my head on his chest.

"I couldn't stay away." I breathed back.

We were broken out of our comfortable trance by a loud "AWE" resounding through the Guild.

"Mira, are Cana and Gildarts back yet? I wanted to ask Cana to be one of my brides maids." I didn't have to wait for an answer, as Cana grabbed me from behind.

"Of course, just don't put me in anything hideous!" She smile at me. 'Good now the only thing remaining is who will walk me down the isle." My face fell at that thought. "Hey Lucy, I could share my dad for the day if you wanted?" Cana said softly. I was glad that everyone was being there for me in their own way. I gave her a bright smile. I saw Natsu rush over to Gildarts, I assumed he was asking about what Cana had said. Soon they came back.

"So little Natsu is settling down, I never thought I'd see the day." His grin was heart warming. "I would like the honor of escorting you in your father's stead." He said softly. I was over joyed, though I never got the chance to really get to know Gildarts, I knew he was close with my friends.

"That would make me very happy." I Smiled at him brightly. "Oh Natsu you need one more groomsmen to make it even." To my surprise he snickered.

"I need you to call out Loke." As if on que there was a puff of smoke, revealing the a handsome orange manged man.

"So you've finally stolen my Princess." I saw Loke smirk playfully at Natsu.

"It seems I have." Natsu crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"It's about damn time." he chuckled, punching Natsu in the shoulder. I laughed at their antics. Loke turned to me with a sweet smile. "I'd be a fool not to be a part of something that makes my master this happy." I jumped up and gave him a hug, in a silent thank you.

"Well now that, we have taken care of that, we need to starting looking at dresses. I'll meet you at the apartment later." I stood on my tip toes and gave Natsu a quick peck on the cheek before going over to Erza and Levy, Cana fallowed close behind. Once I had all of my female friends together I leaned in. "So you girls will be wearing black gowns." They nodded.

"Lu-chan we all wanna see your dress!" Levy chimed in. I though about it for a little and decided.

"Erza you have the largest place, and boys aren't allowed in, can we use it as our base of operation?" Erza smiled brightly, nodding her approval. "Ok Levy and I will go get my dress, every one else head up to Fairy hills." They started giggling as they made their way out of the guild. "Wendy!" I called spotting the little blue haired girl. She looked around until she found me.

"Lucy-san did you need something?" She was such a peppy little girl, I just had to give her a hug.

"I need you and Charle to head up to Erza's with the rest of the girls. I don't want you to miss out on the fun!" She smiled sweetly, and headed back to the white cat. "Ok Levy you ready?" She grabbed my arm and bounced to the door dragging me out of the hall. We chatted happily on the way to my place. I walked in picking up the trunk that housed my mother's precious things and turned to leave again.

It was a small hike to Fairy hills. I was glad to see everyone chatting happily when we entered the room. Mira was the first to approach me. "So first thing we need to do is have you try it on." She suddenly sounded so motherly. I was truly happy to have met each and every one of these girls. I was pushed into a seperate room with Levy. I placed the trunk of the floor, carefully opening the lid. I touched the delicate fabric, pulling it out Levy grabbed the top allowing me to free the train. Underneath the dress there was a stiff bones corset and a pair of white satin shoes. I picked them up and laid them out side the box, lastly there was a small velvet jewelery box I opened it to find The Gold hair pin and matching earrings, I closed the box and hugged it tight to my chest.

"You ok Lu-chan?" Levy put her hand on my shoulder. I quickly wiped at my eyes, smiling.

"I need your help putting this Corset on." I held it up. Levy smiled and held it for me. I discarded my jacket, shirt and bra. Levy wrapped the silk around me, starting to lace up the back. "A little tighter." I instructed, it had been a long time since I last wore a torture device like this, but I knew that if it was with the dress that I would need to wear it. Levy finished, and I slipped off my boots, putting them by the door. I unbuckled my belt, leaving my keys with my mother's jewelry. I stepped into the thick layers of the gown, setting the delicate lace of the sleeves off my shoulders. Levy made a remark about the amount of buttons, but got to work. I was surprised at how comfortably the thick layers of Silk and lace wrapped around my body, it was almost like the dress was made for me. When Levy exclaimed that she was finish I slipped into the satin shoes, and headed toward the door.

The room fell silent as I entered. Mira's eyes filled with tears, Lissanna was hugging her sister's shoulders. Erza's eyes were wide, and Wendy smiled almost a big as Natsu. I saw them drag a mirror out, and caught a glimpse of myself. The layers of Ivory satin danced gracefully around my shapely frame, gold edged lace almost sparkling in the late afternoon sun. The lace of the bodice and sleeves were speckled with tiny crystals. The train trailed a few feet behind me, gracefully fanning out. I smiled at my reflection, I could really see how much I looked like my Mother.

"Absolutely beautiful." Cana broke the silence. I smiled fondly at my reflection for a few more minutes.

"It fits you perfectly Lu-chan." Levy seemed proud of the fact that she had done well.

"Like a glove" Mira clapped gleefully.

"You are so lucky~!" Lissanna sang out.

I couldn't help but giggle. "I really am Lucky Lucy, Papa and Mama called me that when I was little." I automatically put my hand to the heart necklace and thumbed the engraving.

"That is a beautiful necklace Lucy, where did you get it?" Lissanna asked curiously.

"Natsu." I answered simply. All the girls said awe at the same time and fell into a fit of giggles. "Erza do you have a spare maniquin that I could use for my dress?" I turned to see the red head with teary eyes she nodded, heading into the other room. She returned with a red velvet dressing maniquin. Levy and I retreated into the spare room. It took less time to get out of the delicate garments thank fully. I admired the dress from a far for a few minutes before I took the jewelry back out with me.

"So now we need to find gowns that will suit mine, that are black. Wendy and Charle I would like you to were gold if that is alright with you." Both smiled back at me. "Charle would you mind being my flower girl?" I suddenly remembered that I hadn't asked.

"I guess I could." She said, her cheeks flushing a light pink.

"Wendy, your role is a junior brides maid." She perked up, seemingly happy to have a roll at all.

I opened the box in my hand taking out the pin, I pulled my hair back into a bun, and placed the pin though it. I undid my star earing and replaced them with the delicate gold key earrings that had belonged to my mother.

"They match your necklace." Wendy said a little shocked.

"They were my mother's favorites." I touched them affectionately.

"So we have your something old now." Mira said clearing her throat. "Now we need to find you some new, something barrowed, and something blue." She continued, her delicate fingers stroking her chin. "This calls for a shopping trip!" she exclaimed gleefully. The others nodded. I delicately put the jewlery away, joining the gang as we headed to the shopping district.

We found a boutique not far from the edge of town, their dresses were perfect. We chose a Black satin tea length gown, the bodice was spotted with delicate gold lace butterflies draped over thin layers of black lace. For Wendy we found a gold satin tea-length gown that had white lace wrapped around the mid section. Each dress tied behind the neck, supporting the weight of my busty friends. Charle got a simple gold gown, the shining taffeta made her white fur glow. I was pleased that the woman behind the counter said she would be able to fit all five dresses in three days.

During the fitting session I had lost track of Mira and Lissanna, I tried not to worry as I paid close attention to the woman's comments. She had nearly collapsed when I had told her I was getting married at the end of the week, she was very happy to have our business and tried her best to sound professional while she gushed over how beautiful we all were. I smiled as I paid her, I had put Erza in charge of retrieving the dresses, and she was elated to see that I put my faith in her.

As we exited the store I could hear Mira calling from up the street.

"This will be perfect for your something new!" She exclaimed handing me a bag, I peeked inside, a blush raising on my cheeks. "Don't be embarassed, Lucy. You'll need it." the others peeked over the side of the bag, eyes wide.

"The garter I can understand, even the silk stockings, but THAT... where am I supposed to put that?" I said flushing.

"You'll see when we help you get ready." Lissanna said with a wink. I honestly didn't want to think about why Mira or Lissanna for that matter, even know what that was for.

Levy came up and loped her arm though mine. "What are we going to do with your hair?" She ran a finger though it.

"I have a potion that will make it longer if you want." Erza said thought fully, "Then Lucy can have Cancer style it with crystals, or a tiara!" She sounded so excited. I agreed that it would be a good idea.

"We should ask Reedus to make a horse drawn carriage!" Wendy suddenly shouted. "Because Lucy-san looks just like a princess in her gown!" I patted her head.

"That is a great idea." I said " Can I ask you to be in charge of it?" Wendy's eyes widened.

"You can count on me Lucy-san!" The group giggled collectively.

"So something borrowed and something blue." Lissanna thought aloud. I thought for a minute as well.

"I could use blue ribbon for my corset." I commented. The others though about it for a moment.

"Yeah, that could work, we need to get a long strong ribbon though." Levy said, her face scrunched up as she tried to think of where we could find one.

"There is a fabric store one block over, we should try there." Wendy said. We agreed and headed out. I was able to find the perfect one after an hour of searching. We stopped at a cafe, for some coffee, gossiping about the boys. I noticed the sun was starting to set, and decided to head home.

"The last thing is something borrowed, we can figure it out tomorrow, I'm heading home to sleep." I waved good bye, and headed to my apartment. I asked Erza to keep the things that I had bought at her place so Natsu couldn't go snooping. She took them and promised to protect them. I was happy when I made it to my door. I slumped over of the bed sliding off my boots, and undoing my jacket. I side out of it, letting it drop to the floor. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. 'Two days down five more to go.' I drifted in and out for a few minutes not really wanting to fall asleep before Natsu got home, but sleep caught up with me, and I drifted into a dreamless slumber.

Back to Natsu's point of view next chapter! It was fun to spend the day through Lucy's eyes. I wonder what she is going to do for her something borrowed. Until Next time!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Monkey suits

Natsu's POV

"So are you going to get rings for the ceremony?" Loke pushed his blue tinted glasses up the bridge of his nose looking at me. I shrugged.

"I dunno yet, I'm gonna have to ask her about it." I played with the mug on the counter in front of me.

"You should probably decide soon, you only have five days left." Gray said from the other side of Loke.

"The mark serves the purpose of the ring, do you guys really think I need to get one?" They both nodded.

"This is LUCY we are talking about, you know she won't say it out loud but we all know she wants the fairy tale type of romance." I laughed at Loke for touching on mine and Lucy's private joke. He shot me an off handed glare.

"Inside joke." I coughed out.

My ears perked up when I heard voices at the door. The girls filled the hall chatting loudly and giggling. Mira glided behind the counter refilling our mugs with a dreamy expression. Her eyes scanned the inside of the hall. "We really need to dress this place up." She hummed to no one in particular. Loke and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"You ok, Mira?" Gray asked, worry dripping from every word.

"Perfectly fine, thanks for asking!" She smiled brightly in our direction. "You know, fate has a way of smiling on a certain someone, I mean I'm almost jealous. After this, I won't be able to hold a candle to her, I don't think even Erza could out shine her." I raised my brow, Mira wasn't making sense.

"She looked like a real princess, like the ones in every romance novel I have ever read." Levy hopped up on a stool putting her chin on her hands, the same dreamy expression on her face.

"Our gowns are beautiful too, but I don't think anyone will notice when they set eyes on Lucy-san. Even Erza-san was speechless." Wendy bobbed up and down happily, hands secured behind her back.

"I take it the dress her mother left her is breath taking." Loke turned to look at Cana who was smiling brightly.

"Yeah the dress was gorgeous, but the way Lucy wore it, it was like she was a completely different person, almost like a porcelain doll." Cana put a hand on my back. "If I were you, I would insist that she wear those type of dresses all the time, they really suit her." Cana took a mug from Mira, finding a free seat.

"So does any one have an idea for the something borrowed?" Lissanna asked from beside her sister. "We have her gown as something old, Mira and I took care of her something new." Lissanna winked at Mira who went into a fit of giggles.

"And the ribbon for her something blue is secured." Wendy chirped happily.

"She doesn't need much jewelry, the only thing I think we could add might be a tiara and vail." Levy twisted her finger in her hair.

I saw Wendy bounce over to a table not far away. "Reedus, can I ask a favor?" She was smiling enthusiastically. He nodded. "Is there any way you could make a gold horse drawn carriage for Lucy-san?" She went back to bobbing, hands wrapped tightly together behind her back.

"If you get me a good description, that won't be a problem." he nodded putting the end of his paint brush to his chin. Wendy gave him a big hug.

Erza entered with a satisfied smile on her face. She made her way to the bar. "I am in charge of garments. Lucy is trusting me to make sure you six get appropriate attire. You will be going to the tailor first thing in the morning, you are expected to be there, Gildarts. I have already informed the shop owner of the color spesifications." She turned to Gray. "You need a hair cut." Gray looked at Mira mouthing Help me.

"Erza's right, actually you all could use a nice trim." Gajeel made a choking noise, but was silenced by the dirty glare Levy shot across at him.

"Lu-chan, will have the perfect wedding, she deserves it, and our job is to make sure you guys don't mess anything up. So tomorrow after you are fitted, you WILL get your hair cut." Levy crossed her arms over her chest. We took a collective gulp.

"Yes ma'am" I heard them mumble.

"Gray, if I so much as catch you trying to take off your tie, you will find yourself pinned to the guild doors with my swords, is that clear?" Erza was more menacing than usual, Gray shrank back nodding furiously.

"I might be able to get my hands on a tiara, Mira." Loke said softly. Suddenly all attention was on him. "I mean Lucy did make a big impression on the Celestial King, he may be willing to lend her the Celestial queen's tiara. And if not, I'm sure Virgo could come up with something, she usually does this type of thing for Lucy anyway."

"I guess that would make Lucy like a Celestial Princess." Mira sang happily.

"I'll go take care of that. Hey Natsu don't forget what we talked about, I really think you should look into it." He vanished. I sighed.

"What was Loke talking about?" Lissanna asked.

"He wants me to go get rings, but I keep telling him we don't need something like that." I took a deep sip of my drink and choked when I felt hostile glares. "What? We already have our marks." I pulled my vest back showing the delicate key and star mark on my chest. I could see Mira ready to dive into another fit of giggles.

"The ring is an important part of THIS ceremony, THAT is for the dragon ceremony." Levy said eye brows furrowed in frustration. "The ring symbolizes an unbreakable bond, it's also worn where people can SEE it." I nodded, slightly frightened of the small blue haired girl.

"Well, could you help me pick them then?" I asked hopefully. To my great relief that perked her right back up.

"Of course, Lu-chan hasn't given me any other assignments so I'll claim this one." She giggled.

"Why didn't Lucy come back with you guys?" I asked looking around the different female faces.

"I think we tired her out, she said she was going to take a nap or something." Lissanna answered exchanging a playful smile with Mira, before they both broke out in a fit of giggles.

"Thanks for taking care of her. So Levy, how was the trip?" I turned to see Levy's smile falter. "What happened Levy?" I asked more seriously.

"Lu-chan got to see her dad one last time." Erza answered for her. My eyes widened as I turned to Erza. "That's probably why we came home to do our shopping. When she thought we were asleep, she took out the lycrima, that his will was recorded on, she played it on loop for most of the night. She was quiet all morning." Erza's eyes filled with sadness.

"But as soon as we got back she was herself again." Levy commented, with a bright smile. "She had loads of fun at the boutique, She was laughing with the little old woman who kept saying how jealous she was of how Lucky Lucy was, and that we all looked like models in our gowns." the others nodded with bright smiles.

"And the way she looked so happy when she found out her father left her mother's favorite earrings and that beautiful hair pin. I still can't believe how well they match Lucy-san's necklace." Wendy had the dreamy look now, too.

"I was worried at first, but I know why she wanted to get back so quickly." I turned my attention back to Levy who had a pained expression on her face. "It hurts to be so far away." She whispered. She was brushing her fingers over the necklace. "The pain started as a dull nagging, but the longer were were gone the sharper it got. Before we got back on the train, it was so bad I could barely breath. I don't think we should take a chance like that again until after stage four is complete. But knowing Lu-chan, she probably saw it as something she needed to put herself through. Some times I'm amazed at how strong she is." Gajeel nodded his agreement.

"It was hurting me just as badly while you guys were gone." He admitted.

"Same here, but I'm good with pain. It's been mainly like my ribs were bound tightly making breathing uncomfortable." I looked down at my hands.

"The pain shows how strong the bond between you is. The more pain you feel, the stronger your bond." Gramps appeared sitting on the bar. "You are so used to getting your ass kicked, that it may feel like a bee sting to you, but for Lucy it was like getting kicked in the gut. She is probably exhausted from the strain on her body, but I bet her smile rarely faltered, she truly has grown. Layla, her mother was just as amazing, yet it seems our Lucy has even out shined her. She is the first Celestial mage to make a contract with eleven of the Spirits of the Zodiac. If she is able to take that last key she will claim the title of the Celestial Goddess. From what Loke told me about the Celestial King, she has his full support too." He smiled warmly before taking a drink. "Our Celestial Princess and Our Fire Dragon, now that, I would wager is the strongest team in fairy tail." He saluted me with his mug and I returned the gesture.

"I'm going to call it a night." I stood turning to Gajeel, Gray and Erza. "We will meet up here 9 am sharp and head to the tailor, is that alright Erza?" She nodded her approval. "I would suggest being on time, or she might hang us by our toes or something." I muttered to Gray and Gajeel. "Happy you coming?" He shook his head pointing toward Charle. "Ok but don't be late tomorrow." I patted Levy on the head. "I'll meet you here around 4 so you can help me with the ring thing." She smiled and nodded. I waved heading to the doors.

I made my way to the apartment, going over details silently in my mind. I was excited by the way the girls had been talking about Lucy, but I couldn't imagine her looking any more beautiful that she already was. I felt my face heat up as an image of Lucy wrapped in a towel floated into my mind. I pushed it aside, trying to remember if the jeweler we visited had rings. I decided in that I should make a call with the lycrima at the guild in the morning, it would be good to make sure before dragging Lucy and Levy there. I stopped, looking up at our apartment.

I decided to use the window, i justified my actions by telling myself it made less noise this way. I sat on the ledge with an amused smile playing across my face, what a sight. Lucy was sprawled on the bed, it seemed like she was trying to push her jacket off, her boots lay discarded sloppily at the foot of the bed. "I'm surprised you made it to the bed before you collapsed." I whispered softly, brushing the stray golden strands that were scattered across her face. I could see the darkness under her eyes that marked days worth of nearly sleepless nights. I positioned myself at the foot of the bed after tightly pulling the heavy drapes closed. Complete darkness enveloped the room, I pressed my back into the wall, arms crossed over my chest. I just wanted to stay close to her, soon I nodded off to sleep.

Cool hands gliding over my cheek woke me form my slumber. I opened my eyes to see the curtains had been drawn back, the sky was still mostly dark. A cool cheek came to rest on my chest, I could feel the shallow breaths that were shaking her body. "I'm never doing that again." She whispered, as she wrapped her arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms round her in return, and laid a kiss into her hair.

"Good, cause I was gonna ask you to never go that far from me again." I breathed into her ear, my own breathing seemed to be just as shallow, I wondered if she would always leave me this breathless. She tightened her grip. "Go back to sleep, I don't need to leave for a few hours." I raised a hand to brush through her hair.

"Papa left me an inheritance." She seemed to ignore my last words. I pulled her back to look at the tears forming in her eyes.

"You mean other that your mother's things?" She nodded.

"The boxes over there have some of my old clothes, and a family painting that was done before mama died. He also left me some jewels." she pointed to the large pouch on top of the one box. "he left me a recorded message, apologizing for the way he treated me. He admitted being wrong for trying to force me to do things, and he told me how proud he was, and that he wished he would see the day I got to wear my Mother's gown. I wish he was still around, I would have liked him to see how happy I am." She laid her head back on my chest with a light sob.

"I'm sure he knows how happy you are." I held her tightly, letting her get the grief out all at once. "I bet he's just as happy to know you have people who care about you more than anything. You should have heard the girls talking about you. Mira seemed mildly jealous." I laughed. I could feel she smile though her tears. "Hey, Levy is gonna help me pick out rings, do you want it to match your necklace?" She looked up at me with confused eyes.

"Can I come too?" I just had to laugh at the innocently jealous look in her eyes.

"That sounds good to me, so long as you protect me from Levy, she was very serious about the whole ordeal." I shuttered remembering the dark glare she sent me at the guild. "I dunno much about this type of thing." She laughed. "I have to meet up with the guys at 9 do you wanna get something to eat before that?" I noticed she had calmed down.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." She pulled away, noticing that she had fallen asleep in the clothes she wore. I agreed, and laid back, closing my eyes with a yawn.

"Take your time, wake me up when you're ready."

It didn't feel like I had been asleep that long when I heard the tapping of her heels near the bed. I stretched and headed off to the bathroom. It felt like we had been doing this forever even though it had really only been a few days. I made quick work of getting clean. I caught sight of my reflection as I was getting dressed. I ran a hand through my wet hair, maybe Erza was right, it was getting a bit unruly. I shrugged, head out to the kitchen.

"So where would you like to go?" I took my seat on the opposite side of the table.

"That cafe that's open all day." She said smiling. I considered it for a minute before agreeing. I grabbed my wallet, noticing it was thicker than I remembered, I dismissed the thought, Lucy probably put money in while I was in the shower.

"Lets go then, I don't wanna get punished by Erza for running late." I grabbed her hand and headed out the door, We walked quietly in the early morning twilight, it was comforting to just have her home again. "So Levy told me something a little troubling last night." She looked up at me, worry in her eyes. "It seems that the distance between her and Gajeel caused her a great deal of pain." I saw her shoulders tense, she looked down, avoiding my gaze. "Here I thought it was just me and Gajeel who felt like that." I stopped walking for a minute.

"It hurt, once we got to the hotel, I could barely speak. The pain was so intense, but the closer we got to home, the easier it was to breath." I pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry for making you worry, I promise not to do anything foolish like that again." She squealed back tightly.

"I wasn't worried, I know you can handle it, but I wish you wouldn't do everything alone, we are all here for you. Not just me Luce, Levy and Erza too." I patted her head and started walking again. We had a peaceful breakfast, I told Lucy what she had missed at the guild in the past two days, she laughed at the antics. When we finish I suggested heading down to the guild early, Lucy agreed.

When we got through the doors, I was surprised to see how busy it already was. There were large bolts of soft white fabric, dozens or gold candle holders. The roof was cut low by a metal structure, Mira was instructing men to attach fabric to different places alone the rails. "It looks great Mira!" Lucy was beaming as she took in the changes.

Lissanna bounced into view "Lucy!" She giggled, grabbing for Lucy's hand. "We need your opinion on the flowers!" They both shot me an apologetic smile.

"I'll be fine Luce, go have some fun." She gave me a grin and hurried off with Lissanna. I settled myself into a seat. I may have dozed off for a few minutes before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back to see Erza smiling sweetly.

"They will do just about anything to make Lucy happy." She said looking around the guild. "I guess you could say we all would." Her eyes sparkled with pride.

"Yep" was all I needed to say.

"So this is gonna take all morning isn't it?" Gray leaned on the bar next to me, hands placed casually behind his head.

"Probably, then you have to do the hair cut thing." I chuckled when he gave me the why'd-you-bring-that-up look. "I think we could ask Lucy to use Cancer, he is quick." I hoped my comment would put him at ease. He sighed and shrugged.

"Yeah so we can just get it over with." he let his head fall back, looking at the ceiling. Levy and Gajeel made their way to the bar, Levy seemed to be sternly demanding something, Gajeel had his arms crossed with a blank expression.

"I'm not saying you have to cut it all off, just enough so that it's manageable. You need to look nice, she is my best friend and I want you to at least act like you care!" She puffed out her cheeks.

"Fine, fine. but as soon as the stupid ceremony is over I am going back to what I normally wear!" He said gruffly. I raised an eyebrow, and he sent me an amused grin, letting me know he was teasing her.

"We are missing Gildarts, Loke, and Happy." Erza stated, foot tapping on the floor.

"Oh Mira has Gildarts and Happy working in the back. Want me to get them for you?" Cana hollered from a rafter. Erza nodded, and turned back to the bar. There was a puff of smoke by the kitchen.

"Mira! I got it!" Loke shouted.

"Take it to Erza, she is responsible for all that!" Mira answered through the door. He bounded over to us, holding a delicate looking velvet box.

"Lucy's something borrowed!" He exclaimed proudly, handing the box to Erza. She raised an eyebrow and slowly opened the box. I could just make out the golden color and how it seemed to sparkle.

"It's perfect Loke!" Erza closed the box holding it close to her chest.

"The Spirit King was happy to lean it to Lucy, he wanted to lean her the matching necklace, but I told him it wouldn't be necessary. I wouldn't be surprised if he grants her an audience before the ceremony to congratulate her." Loke puffed out his chest, a proud smile beaming on his handsome features.

"Good work Loke!" Levy chimed. "That is exactly what we needed! I can't believe how perfect it goes with everything else!" Levy seemed over joyed.

Gildarts and Happy joined the group, shortly fallowed by Lucy and Lissanna who were deep in conversation.

"We are heading out Lucy, would it be a problem to ask Cancer to groom these animal when we get back?" Erza asked pointing to Gajeel and me. She laughed and nodded, returning to her conversation.

The tailors wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. The little old man who ran the shop already had black suits prepared for us to try on. Everyone was wearing black with red except Happy and me who were shoved into white tuxes with gold accents. "The color is a perfect match." Erza was nodding her approval.

"I'm surprised it actually looks good on you." Gray remarked from where he was, currently playing with his crimson tie.

"These actually aren't half bad." Gajeel said, looking at himself sideways in a mirror.

The old man and I supposed his daughter came in from the other room holding white leather gloves and a weird looking hat. they were handed to me. I eyed them suspiciously till Erza shot me a glare. I pulled on the gloves and put the tall hat on my head. I turned to my reflection again. I was just as surprised to see how good these clothes looked on me. I decided that I would go shopping with Lucy after the wedding, maybe it was time to retire my vest. I looked around, we all looked great.

"What a lucky lady to have such a handsome bridal party." the old man remarked as I saw Erza hand him a pouch. "I will have them ready 2 days tops." He smiled brightly at Erza.

"These guys are the lucky ones." I heard Erza whisper, and I agreed. We were all incredibly lucky to have Lucy.

On our way back to the guild Erza decided to excuse herself to take the tiara to the vault of a room that housed the rest of Lucy's things. We walked laughing about random things. We had taken less time than any of us had expected, but when we got inside the guild, it was almost like walking into a different universe. The walls were lined with white shiny fabric, there was gold fabric hanging from the center of the false ceiling. The tables had all been removed, leaving only the bar for people to sit, which no one was. I could hear people shuffling the kitchen there was shouting out behind the guild.

"Wow, Mira is really getting into this." I said shocked.

"Of course she is, she has been looking forward to this since just after the whole Phantom Lord incident. She's been trying to get Lucy to confess ever since." Levy beamed proudly. I laughed. "And it's not everyday that someone gets married." Levy's face took on the dreamy look. "This type of event usually takes over a year to get together, Lucy seems to be handling the pressure, I wouldn't be able to get this many people to do what I say without questions." The was slight jealousy tinting her eyes but it vanished instantly. "I'm gonna ask Lucy and Mira to plan mine when the time comes." She nodded, satisfied with her decision.

"Well I'm heading back, Lucy can't call Cancer if I'm here." Loke disappeared. I leaned up against the bar.

"Oh Levy, Lucy said she wants to come with to pick out the rings, I was thinking of going to the shop I got the necklace from, what do you think?" I looked over.

"Well if you're going all the way out there I'll come too." Gajeel said before starting to much on some metal Mira left at the end on the bar for him.

"Sounds good to me." I smiled back.

Erza came back and went looking for Lucy. It wasn't long before she came back to us, Cancer in tow. There was a collective sigh while Levy and Erza gave him instructions on who got what treatment. It didn't take long, soon we all looked a little more like we cared about our hair. I laughed when I saw Gajeel's hair tied back in a pony tail, Levy was gushing at how handsome she thought it made him. I received a punch in the gut as punishment for laughing. "You didn't do much of anything to Natsu." Erza complained.

"Lucy asked me not to take to much off, she likes it the way it is -ebi?" He shrugged. "Is there anything else you need -ebi?" Erza blushed, and shook her head, Cancer disappeared.

"Do you guys want to head out earlier? I thought it would have taken longer to get all this stuff done." I turned to Levy, who smiled brightly.

"I'll go get Lu-chan!" she ran to the back room. When she returned we headed for the train station. When we got on the train, I tried to keep Lucy as close as possible to ease the motion sickness.

"So are you going to wear your scarf." Lucy turned to me.

"It looked ok with the rest of the stuff, Erza didn't complain so I guess so." I smiled at her, it was nice to be able to sit and have a real conversation while on the train, I nuzzled closer entranced by how good she smelled.

"Oh Lu-chan wait till you see your something borrowed. Loke brought it from the spirit world!" Levy smiled brightly, clapping her hands. The girls laughed, and continued chatting about what Lucy had done while we were gone. Aparently Lissanna had Lucy going through magazines to find the perfect flowers, and Mira had been making her eat different types of cake.

"So we came up with a nice pairing. the cake is beurre noisette, with an almond amaretto cream frosting. We may experiment with adding chocolate into the cake, but everything Mira makes is amazing." Lucy giggled. Levy excitedly started asking questions, I on the other hand closed my eyes, just enjoying the ride.

It didn't take long to get to our stop. We made our way to the Jeweler's store, when we entered he greeted us pleasantly.

"You are becoming my best costumer Mr. Dragoneel." He said playfully. "What can I help you find today?"

"I need a set of right." He looked up at me then turned his gaze to Lucy.

"Ah, I remember that necklace, so I was right. I think I have the perfect set." He smiled happily, and went to the back of the store. When he came back he held a Velvet box that housed around a dozen sets of rings. "Feel free to take a look. Let me know if you find one you like." Lucy automatically laid her hand over the rings feeling each one. She finally stopped on a set, the small golden circle had an intricate woven pattern around it, to me it looked sort of like a gold string looping around itself into a knot. there were a total of three rings, two matching and the third had a large clear stone cut into the shape of a star. The shop owner noticed Lucy stop and came over. "That's what I thought." He smiled sweetly at Lucy while her helped her try on the two rings. "perfect fit." he patted her hand and turned to me, handing over the third ring. I slipped it over my knuckle, amused at how well it fit. "Yes, I was very right." the little old man giggled as he looked at us. Lucy slipped the rings off, I followed her lead, handing them back to the owner.

Levy came beside Lucy giggling like crazy. I noticed Gajeel eying the box, with curious eyes. The old man gave me his congratulations as I paid him, he handed my two small velvet boxes with a smile. He wished us a save journey as we left, I was happy now that Loke and Gray talked to me about this, Lucy did seem to appreciate the gesture.

"Lu-chan you need to put the one ring on!" Levy whined. I handed the box to Lucy. "Don't do it like that STUPID!" She hit me on the back of the head. I grumbled under my breath that she didn't need to be so rough. "You're supposed to put it on for her!" She shouted in my ear. I rolled my eyes at her, but took the ring with the star and put it on her left hand, Lucy smiled up at me, then wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Did I mention that my Dragon is better than any prince." She whispered in my ear. I wrapped my arms around her waist, I could hear clapping from random on lookers, and I smiled back at her.

"Have I mentioned that I'm a lucky Dragon to win himself a princess." I breathed back. We stayed that way for a few minutes. "Hey I'm hungry lets grab some lunch before we head back." I nudged Gajeel who nodded in agreement. We stopped at a little cafe, and ate a large lunch, laughing at talking the whole time. When we got back to Magnolia, it was late in the afternoon. Lucy decided to go home to do some work on her novel, I promised to keep myself busy so she could have some peace. When I got to the guild Mira grabbed my arm, dragging me to the kitchen.

"You are going to be testing food since Lucy isn't here." She pushed me into a chair and started putting food in front of me. I knew better than to object, so I silently started eating, it was only minutes before the plate was snatched, and replaced by a new one. This continued for a little over an hour. "SO?" Mira looked at me seriously.

"Everything was awesome." I put my hands on my stomach. She shot me a strange look. "But the 4th one you gave me was absolutely the best." I recovered quickly, the strange look faded. She promptly kicked me out of the kitchen. "four more days." I said to myself as I looked around the hall. I could feel a bit of nervousness settle in my stomach, a made a decision to go for a walk. I walked for a good hour before I ended up near the rainbow sakura tree that I had uprooted for Lucy so long ago. It seemed to have grown taller, I thought. I settled myself at the base, and closed my eyes.

**Only a few days till the wedding, everything is going smoothly. Yeah for Lucy!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Fairy Garden

Normal POV

Lucy sat at her desk starring at a pile of papers. She had spent the last two hours re-reading everything she had previously written, and was dissatisfied. Swiftly she opened the bottom drew of her desk and placed the papers inside. With a deep breath she pulled out a new stack of empty pages. "It's time to start something new." She put the pen to the page and started spilling the words onto paper as if they had a mind of their own.

Natsu slowly opened his eyes, realizing he had fallen asleep some time ago since the sun was already low in the sky. He got up and stretched lasily. His stomach growled loudly. "Time to head back I guess." He brushed a hand through his hair, then headed toward Fairytail.

Mira bobbed from the guild hall into the kitchen merrily humming the wedding march. Her excitement for the event overflowed in a fit of giggles. After checking the order list she had on the counter she made her way to the back door. She was stopped before she reached the door "Mira-nee!" Lissanna ran in from the hall. Mira stop to smile at her sister, encouraging her to get on with it fast, there was still so much to take care of. "The Garden, The men are here to set it up!" Lissanna's excitement rivaled her sisters. She was so happy that Natsu had finally come to terms with the fact that he loved a certain blonde. She herself was disapointed to see how close they had gotten after only a year or so, but knew it was a possibility when she had met Edo-Lucy. Inwardly she was happy that this Lucy was much sweeter and friendlier. They had become good friends and she was overjoyed to see both of them happy, though another feeling nagged at her heart when she saw them together.

Mira hurried to direct the men who carried all sorts of plants, and wooden beams. "Take these arround back, Lucky you go out there and help the men, here is the lay out. I'll send each one back after I make sure everything is in order." Mira handed Lucky a picture that Reedus had done to Mira's specifications. Mira rushed around checking that everything she asked for was present, and that nothing was sent that she had not asked for. She inspected each man then sent them to Lucky, as she said she would. Lissanna was covering bar maid duty for her sister, making sure to keep every one out of the way. It had become common knowledge in the past few days that if anyone even dared start a fight inside the guild that they would pay dearly for their mistake.

Erza often came by to guard the decorating progress, no one dared mess with Erza when she proclaimed that anyone who messed with Lucy's wedding would die a painful death. Lissanna was moved by how devoted Lucy's friends were, it seemed like the whole guild was ready to lay down thier own life if Lucy asked for it. Again a small pang of jealousy creeped into her thoughts. With a sigh she continued her chores.

Gray sat in his apartment, staring blankly at the wall opposite him. He had been putting up a nice front, but now that he was alone the anger boiled inside, making his usually cold body uncomfortable. Over the past few days he had destroyed every free standing object in his apartment, the only thing left was a picture in a delicate gold frame. "Why'd I have to be such a coward." He said to the picture, tears rolling freely. "Now she is gone forever." He sobbed not even trying to hide the hurt in his voice. He curled his legs up into his emtpy chest, allowing the pain of loss to consume him.

Natsu sat down at the bar giving Lissanna a large grin. She smiled back and gave him a mug of fire whiskey. "SO, what was it that made you pick Lucy?" She asked while cleaning the mug in her hand.

"That is hard to say, I guess you could say that from the time I met her I felt like I needed her. She was always with me, no matter how hard the missions were or how annoying the surrounding, she fought just as hard as everyone else. She has a kind heart that she wears openly, she isn't afraid to speak her mind either. She just suits me, we are so alike." Natsu answered after a few minutes. "Not to mention there is no denying instint, and mine was drawn to her." Lissanna smiled sweetly at the words she wished described her, she fought back the mist that was forming in her eyes, she turned away walking to the store room. When she was sure she was alone, Lissanna put her back to the closed door and slide to the floor, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. "I wish that were me." she breathed out nearly soundlessly.

Lucy eyed the stack of pages with a smile. "Now for a name." She tapped her pen on the desk for a few minutes before smiling "Perfect!" She pulled out a clean page and neatly wrote "Who needs a prince" she began to write her name below and stopped for a moment. "I guess I'll need to get used to being Lucy Dragneel." She giggled to herself, and finished with her soon to be last name. She took the pages and placed them in a large brown envelope. "Levy is going to love this." Lucy smiled at the package proudly. She stood up grabbing her jacket and her keys before heading out, the package secured under her arm.

Levy sat at a table in the book store, scanning over a large volume written in a dead language. She took her time translating each line. She had an urge to learn everything that was ever written about the Dragons. She was fasinated by the way this book was laid out, like an old fashioned dairy. She was completely engrossed in the detailing of a mage who lived at the mouth of what was then called the Dragon's lair. He was studying the colony for what appeared to be his entire adult life. "Fasinating." she kept saying to herself, as she delved deeper into the secrets of dragon behavior.

Lucy entered the guild with a warm smile, making her way to the bar. "Mira!" she called happily. Mira poked her head out from the kitchen. "how are things coming along?" She swiftly made her way to Lucy with a large smile plastered on her face.

"The garden is nearly put together. You're going to cry when you see it!" Lucy smiled and hugged Mira tightly.

"Just in case I don't get the chance to say this for the next couple of days, You are like the big sister I wish I had when I was little. Thank you so much, you will never know how much this means to me." Lucy's eyes glittered with tears. "I'm so jealous of Lissanna for having such an amazing family." Mira hugged her tightly.

"You are part of our family too, Lucy. I would do anything for you." She smiled back tears brimming in her blue eyes.

"Have you seen Levy?" Lucy pulled away.

"Not in a while, but I have been in the back. If you don't see her my guess would be that she is at the book store." Lucy nodded and waved good bye, ignoring everything around her, including a pink haired boy who's smile fell for a minute. "Don't be sad Natsu, she is looking for Levy. It must be important." Mira stepped behind the bar, promptly refilling the mug in front of the frowning teen. "I'm sure she'll be back soon." Mira laid a comforting hand on Natsu shoulder.

Happy had been spending a lot of time with Wendy and Charle since they got back. Maybe he felt his buddy needed some time alone with Lucy, or maybe it was because Charle wasn't being a cold to him anymore, he honeslty didn't care what the reason was that he got to spend time with Charle. He hoped that by being helpful to Wendy, Charle would start to see him as dependable and give him a chance. Wendy didn't seem to mind having him around either, and he enjoyed doing things that made her laugh. He missed Natsu, but not so much that he wasn't enjoying himself. He just sat enjoying his fish and the company.

"Levy-chan!" Levy turned as she was leaving the book store, the heavy volume tucked securely in her bag.

"Lu-chan what's the matter?" Levy looked at her friend confused. Lucy came to a stop breathing heavily but smiling. She held out a brown envelope.

"It's not the novel I had been working on, but I think it's better." Lucy said breathlessly, urging Levy to take the manuscript.

"Lu-chan you didn't need to run all the way here to give me this!" Levy took the envelope and Lucy's arm in her own.

"Yes I did. I want you to read it now." Lucy beamed with pride. "Lets head to the guild so you can tell me what you think!" Levy nodded in agreement. The girls made their way to the guild quickly, Lucy practically dragging Levy behind her, then throwing Levy into a chair, chanting "read it, come on read it!" she was drawing stares from the other guild member, but she didn't care, she just wanted her reading buddy to affirm that the story she wrote was worthy of her extreme pride.

Levy undid the envelope and pulled out the manuscript, she giggled when she saw the title page. "Who needs a prince." She read aloud. Levy looked up to see Lucy smile brightly.

"Keep reading!" Lucy whined. Levy giggled again when she saw that Lucy had signed her name as Lucy Dragneel. She pushed the cover page to the back of the pile and started to read, soon she was lost in the words on the page.

At points she would scream, "No they can't do that!" or "Wait, why the hell would you say that!" about twenty pages in Levy looked up to see Lucy watching intently, "Lucy..." but she was shushed.

"Keep reading, it's gets better." Levy nodded and put her attention back to the words. The only sounds were little whimpers, and the ocasional cheer from Levy, finally she got to the last part, a dreamy expression clouded her eyes.

"Oh Lu-chan!" Levy hugged the pages close to her heart. "I had no idea! Is it all true?" Lucy's smile widened as she nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?" Levy's face fell.

"Levy you're missing the point!" Lucy whined.

"No I'm not! It's no wonder you were so angry with your father!" At this point there was a low murmer from the on lookers, Natsu decided it was time to push his way through to Lucy. "Did he really do that to you?" Levy asked again.

"Yes, but the point of the story is my choice to come home instead." Lucy frowned.

"That part is beautifully written Lu-chan, but I can't get over it. You really turned down a Prince!" Natsu stopped in his tracks looking at Lucy as the word Prince rang painfully in his ears.

"He was a horrible little man. And Father was a tirant at the time. He was desperate to save his company, and he figured what better why to get money than to marry my daughter off to a prince. I mean it's not like it was the first time my father forced me into an engagement. That's one of the reasons I left home in the first place. Focus on the point of the story, how I was able to stand up to my father after ten years of being forced into adult situations. How I fought back because I finally had a real home." Lucy smiled while the tears fell down her face, Natsu was by her side in a second asking to read the manuscript in Levy's hands.

He smiled to see Lucy used his last name. He began to flip though the pages, eyes wide with shock. He got to the same place where Levy had stopped and looked up at Lucy, then went back to reading. He couldn't believe the words that were sprawled gracefully across the pages. By the end he was smiling and hugged Lucy tight. "You never told me that was why you went back." He said slowly. "That slap across the face makes sense, I was wondering why you had been avoiding me that day." He put a finger to his chin. "So that's what happened, with Gray. Remind me to punch him later." He laughed.

"You aren't making sense let me see that!" Mira said grabbing the manuscript from Natsu. She to giggled to see Lucy Dragneel. She quickly scanned the pages, eyes watering the same way Levy's had. She looked up when she was finished. "Awe you put me and Cana's match making in!" The tears spilling over.

"Lu-chan it is beautiful." Levy said tears flowing freely. Both girls hugged, fallowed shortly by Mira. Natsu sat back smirking, so she had really chosen a dragon over a prince, that was an amazing feeling.

"But you get the point now right Levy-chan? It isn't a sad story, it's a true love story!" Both girls giggled.

Lucky entered through the back door, breathing heavily. "Man, Mira is a slave driver." She breathed, brushing the dirt off her clothes. "Mira, it's done!" She called out loudly. Mira was through the kitchen doors in the blink of an eye, hauling a startled blonde and bluenett. "You can go see it if you want." Lucky shrugged walking to the kitchen door. "I need a drink." She mummbled. Mira continued to drag Lucy and Levy out the back door. The sight in front of them took their breath away. Lucky had transformed the space between the guild and the lake into a lush garden. A gazebo stood possitioned to the West so that the setting sun would be the back drop. Delicate vines climbed the wooden pillars sprouting red and white roses. There was a path way made of brilliant poppys on either side. Lucy assumed they outlined where the Isle runner would be placed. Tiny jars hung from the newly planted Sakura trees that enclosed the garden, each one must have housed two dozen fireflies, they blinked happily shining light across the garden, giving it an enchanted feel.

"This is beautiful." Lucy finally managed to speak. She took in the delicate white lillies, the vibrent Orchids, and the soft daisies that circled the gazebo, they swayed with the wind, dancing to an unsung melody.

"We are still waiting on a few things, but for the most part this is where you will get married." Mira smiled at the shocked looks on her companions' faces. Levy who finally recovered from the shock, walked over to inspect a jar of fireflies.

"It's like a fairy play ground Lu-chan." Her eyes were bright with wonder. "The fireflies were an awesome touch for lighting, it must have taken forever to find them all." Lucy was completely speechless, tears started to roll down her cheeks, a look of sheer wonder overtaking her delicate features. Levy hugged her shoulders comfortingly as she too allowed tears to spill over.

"It's everthing I ever wanted Mira, thank you." Lucy finally said sniffling.

"Wanna know the best part?" Mira had a mishchevious grin that spread to her sparkling blue eyes. Levy and Lucy looked at each other, then nodded at Mira. " The trees are enchanted, so they will flower in the next couple of days." Mira smiled at her brilliant idea. "We are also working on enchantments like we use for fantasia for inside the hall." Mira giggled at the girls who were still in tears.

"It's settled, you are planning my wedding to Mira." Levy blurted out. Mira's eyes got wide.

"Your getting married too?" Mira nearly shrieked.

"Not yet, but when I do, you are planning it." Levy smiled through her happy tears. "Lu-chan we should head back inside." Levy help Lucy, who had sat in the grass eyes still shining with tears, to the back door. "Hey Lu-chan wipe your eyes or you'll make Natsu worry." Levy handed a hankerchief to her friend while settling her own tears. Lucy dried her face and hugged both girls.

"What would I ever have done with out you guys?" Levy and Mira returned the hug tightly. "I'm gonna go thank Lucky." Lucy ran out into the Main hall. There was a loud yelp as Lucy knocked Lucky off her feet. "IT IS AMAZING!" She shouted pulling the poor girl into a death grip hug. "thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lucky patted Lucy's head and whispered that she couldn't breath, Lucy immediatly let go and smiled. "I mean it, thank you so much!" Lucky smiled back, brushing her hand through her hair, she waved it off as if it was no big deal.

"It's getting late." Natsu appeared near the girls, a concerned look on his face. "Why were you crying?" Lucy turned her face to her fiance and smiled brightly.

"Because it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Levy's right when she said it looks like a fairy's play ground!" The tears glazed her eyes again, but her smile only grew as a softer look overtook her fiance's dark green eyes.

"Well then, are you ready to head home. Happy seems to have left with Wendy again." He muttered something about Happy getting spoiled. Lucy laughed and jumped up wrapping her arms around Natsu's neck, he in return wrapped his around her waist. They just smiled at each other for a while, seeming to have a silent conversation. the girls who stood near by giggled, their eyes taking on the clouded dreamy look again.

"Lets go home" Lucy released her hold on Natsu and smiled sweetly, he took her hand and headed out of the guild.

"So four days to go." Levy said to Mira as she leaned on the bar. "I haven't seen Gray since this morning, do you think he is alright?" Mira sighed, she knew Gray was taking it harder than he let the others see, but was not going to tell Levy. The last thing they needed was for Gray to try and steal Lucy.

"He is probably just sick of all the mushy couple things." Mira shrugged keeping her back to Levy.

"I know he is hurting. You read Lu-chan's book too, I bet you know what really happened between them." Levy said in a very low voice.

"Yes, I am well aware, and it was his own fault for not listening to Natsu when he told Gray to take the chance. He was an idiot, but I don't think it would have made a difference. Lucy had already given her heart away by that time." Mira sighed turning back to Levy. "They all talked to me about it. Edolas really was a decisive point in their lives. Lucy was afraid that Natsu would rekindle what he had with Lissanna, Gray figured out that he loved Lucy. And Natsu well he started reading." Levy raised an eyebrow. "He kept it quiet so no one would tease him, but he was working on trying to find things that would impress Lucy, though he never voiced it like that, I could tell. Wendy told me things about how they acted while they were trying to rescue everyone, how he reacted when they said they were going to kill Lucy. Wendy said she had never seen him so angry. And this was while he couldn't use magic. I think he started to put it together then" Mira sighed again. "Loke on the other hand, loves Lucy too, he owes her his life, he is so devoted to her that I bet it hurts him more than Gray that Lucy choose Natsu. But I am pretty sure that relations between Spirits and their Masters is taboo so he really never could have been with her."

"You really know everything that goes on around here don't you Mira." Levy blushed, thinking about what had resently happened with her personal life.

"I just listen, I guess that's why they come to me with their problems. I probably know things about people that they don't know about themselves." She gave Levy a sad smile. "Any way I am going to ask you to do me a favor." Levy raised her eye brow. "Keep Gray away from Lucy for a while, we can't have any last minute confessions to ruin her special day." Levy nodded.

"Lucy knows what backing out now would do anyway. Both her and Natsu would die." Mira's eyes widened. "The Mark that Natsu showed everyone yesterday is a kind of sensory link. If either decides to leave and breaks the link they both die. That's the real reason why Natsu took so long to confess, he knew that if the words come out of his mouth and his heart locked onto Lucy but she didn't accept he would lose his heart forever. The idea of a heartless Natsu scares me." Levy took a deep breath. "I have been translating some old texts and I came across the ritual that was originally done by the dragons, it makes them stronger when they are together, and of course weaker when they are apart. Lu-chan Loves Natsu more than her own life. And he looks at her like she is the only person in the world. As Lu-chan so gracefully worded it. 'The Princess laughed in the face of the Prince,"Why would this Princess needs a filthy grubby Prince with a silly white horse, when she has a handsome and brave dragon who will stand by the her side no matter how dangerous the situation maybe. This Princess knows her dragon will always catch her no matter how far the fall maybe, because to him she is his world, and to her he is her life." Now leave before I get angry.' That is from her original book too. She decided to write the thing you read earlier on the spur of the moment. Lu-chan would rather die than give up on her perfectly imperfect dragon. Just the same as me." Levy said proudly. "We are family now, the dragon link gives us the loyalty of the colony, it is a beautiful feeling." Mira looked a Levy confused for a moment.

"So you're marked too, huh?" Mira raised an eyebrow smiling at Levy's slip up.

"Yes I am. And Lucy is more dedicated than I am and that is truely amazing to me because I can't even describe the feelings that attach me to my dragon, not the way Lucy can at least. He is my world as well." Mira was suprised at how much power Levy put behind her words. "And Gray wouldn't dare try to confuse Lucy now that she is marked, because he already knows that if he interfears it will kill her. That's what Natsu and Gray's last fist fight was over. Gray snapped when he found out that the ceremony could kill her, and Natsu knocked the sense back into Gray after he realized they had already reach stage 3." Mira looked confused again. "Male Dragons can only have one mate, when they find that mate they go though a process. We broke it into four stages, protection, acknowledgement, the promise, and the vow. Natsu and Lucy had progressed to stage 3 when he gave her the necklace. Though at the time they didn't know about the process or the mark. From the manuscript I read earlier I think they marked each other in the cafe, but it might have been on the way back from their mission. I'm still not sure when I got mine either. Any way when Lu-chan and I were reading the book that Master had found she whisper for me to take Gajeel and handle things in private. I figured she would do the same. Next thing I knew Gray and Erza we're at the guild, Gray's fist were bloody, and he looked so distraught. Then Lu-chan demading to see master. I knew they were going to go to stage 4. But what only the colony knows is that the marriage part isn't nessicary. They could have just finished the ceremony, but Lucy wanted this first." Mira was nodding, starting to understand excitement filling her.

"So they have seal the deal." Mira's eyes lite up playfully. "We should get to work on a bridal shower too, get Erza to help." With that Mira turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Gray had fallen asleep curled up againts the wall, the precious picture close to his chest. Deep down he had known this would happen, she would eventually make a decision, that left him standing on the outside. He knew he had never stood a chance, not when HE was always by her side.

For a momment in time Gray did see a glimmer of hope, when Lissanna had returned to them, Gray hoped that Natsu would return to her side the way that were when they were all kids, and for a while Natsu wasn't around Lucy as much. He was going to swoop in on Lucy, and spend as much time with her as possible, and he had, but it only made things worse. He couldn't stand to see the pain in her eyes, guilt ate away at him. He knew then, that she would always run back to him, she would always rely on the idiot who didn't even treat her like a female. It was infuriating. Why wouldn't she even look in his direction, she only seem to have eyes for the flame head.

When Natsu told Gray that he had given him an opertunity to steal Lucy, it made his blood boil. So this asshole was just playing dumb the whole time, HE was allowing Gray to have a shot before he swooped in to take her away, which was pointless because the idiot had already laid claim on her heart. He had no idea how painful it was to watch Lucy cry over someone else, to hear her say someone elses name in her sleep. But as time passed Gray knew he would have to let go. She loved him more than Gray had thought was possible. Natsu had taken Lucy along time ago and Gray would have to put up a brave front and move forward like he always did, and that was why he was alone, here in his destroyed apartement, tormented by dreams of being with the only girl he had ever loved.

Lissanna had no idea how long it had been since she had come down to the store room, all she knew was that her throat was dry and her vision was still blurry. There was a knock at the door, she decided to open it silently, not trusting her voice at the moment. As the light fell across her face, she realized it was her elder sister on the other side of the door wearing a concerned look. After a minute Mira wrapped her arms around her sister.

"I know how you feel, Lissanna. I am proud that you are try so hard to keep from making a scene, but you don't ever need to hide from me." Lissanna sobbed dryly and painfully into her sister's chest, her tears had already dried up. She weakly hugged her sister back, with a small whimper. "Some day you will see why this had to happen. And when you can see that clearly you'll move on and find someone for your self, and I promise there will be someone who loves you as much as you love Natsu, maybe more so. It hurts now yes but you'll be ok." Mira said in a soothing voice, stroking her sisters short hair. Lissanna tried to talk, but words wouldn't come. "You don't need to say anything. I understand. He is Natsu and nothing will change that, he still care for you even if it isn't the way you want him to. Lucy cares about you too, she is even alittle jealous of you sometimes you know."

The words finally formed in Lissanna's throat. "He isn't the same, it's like my Natsu was washed away and made into her lap dog!" it came out as a raspy whine. Mira shot her sister a stern look.

"That is the same Natsu, do you want to hear why he is like this? Because she is his ONE. She releases him from the anger and the pain. SHE gives him a purpose, something good to live for other than just fighting, or getting stronger to find Igneel. You know he has barely mentioned looking for Igneel since he brought her here. He LOVES Lucy, and you should respect that, the same as she respected you when you came home. She gave space for you to come back into his life where you had left off. She put herself though so much pain to make you happy, how could you act selfish when that person tried so hard for you!" Mira's eyes stung with angry tears.

"I.." Mira shook her head at her little sister. Lissanna bit her lower lip in frustration. Mira turned her back poised to leave.

"Fate binds them Lissanna, you know that better than anyone. They were made for each other." Mira walked out slamming the door, leaving a trembling Lissanna on the floor of the store room.

The quiet of the past couple of days was weighing on everyone. Most kept busy with preperations for the wedding. Lucy spent more time at home, reading and revising her stories, trying desperatly not to think of how nervous she was becoming.

The day before the wedding come faster that she had anticipated, and worry was building up inside her. "Natsu, I haven't seen Lissanna in days, do you think she is sick?" Natsu turned his head scanning the guild, he honestly was to busy resently to really care who was around him. "I'm worried, Gray seems to be missing too." She was biting her lip and fidgeting in her seat. "do you think we should look for them?" Lucy wore her heart on her sleeve, it was one of the things Natsu loved about her, but at the moment he wished he couldn't feel how tense the atmosphere around her was.

"That isn't a good idea." Mira came over and placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "They both need their space. They have to work through their issuses on their own. Even Loke is taking time to deal with the situation, but they will each find their way to handle the changes." Mira gave Lucy a sad smile, moving her hand to Lucy's head as the girls tears over flowed.

"I never wanted to hurt any of them Mira!" Natsu wrapped his arm protectivly around her sob shaken form.

"You didn't hurt anyone Lucy, they are the masters of their own feelings, you never asked them to fall in love. As for Lissanna, she has already had Edo versions of you two to get her used to the idea, but it doesn't make it easier, I think it actually makes it harder because she likes you so much. She hoped it would be different when she came home, but you were already here, and for her the damage was done. You two are meant to be together, even in Edolas nothing could seperate you. There is nothing for you to feel guilty about. With time the wounds will heal, and they will see that what is important is your happiness, even if they were not the ones to give it to you." Mira patted Lucy's head affectionately. "This is just as hard for me. I view you both as my sisters, I knew when Lissanna looked at you two that she was very aware of what would happen. I saw it too, it was different from the way Natsu acted with anyone else. I also saw how it affected Gray, the anger and jealousy, I think he realized he had already lost you at that point. Even Loke, he understood first where your heart was heading, even if you didn't. Being your spirit he could sense your feeling, the confusion, the pain. I think it got easier for him when Aries came to you, he seems more like a big brother now, like he will settle just to stay near you. Learning to deal with the pain will make them stronger in the end, so don't be sad." Mira turned to leave "tomorrow is a big day you should go get some rest." Lucy jumped from her seat trapping Mira in her arms.

"Can you tell Lissanna that I see her as family, and that I'm so sorry for causeing her pain?" Lucy sobbed into Mira's back.

"I will, Now head home, Levy and Erza will pick you up first thing in the morning. Try your hardest to sleep. Natsu stay there, you are not allowed to go home tonight, plus Gajeel was looking for you." Mira smiled over her shoulder. "It's bad luck, you will see her tomorrow night." Natsu let out a low growl. "GAJEEL HE IS OVER HERE!" Mira shouted, in moments Natsu was thrown over the taller man's shoulder and dissappears out the guild doors. Mira and Lucy laughed at the sight. "Honestly though try to relax, you'll need the energy." Lucy smiled at Mira and headed home.

Lucy sat at her desk after her hot bath, tapping her pen against her desk. With a deep breath she started to write.

'Hi Mama,

I know it's been a very long time since I last wrote to you. I found out that PaPa is with you now, I wish you could give him a kiss for me now. Tomorrow is a big day Mama, your baby is getting married! You remember the boy I always write about, well he is going to become my husband tomorrow. Oh Mama I wish you could see the Gazebo that they set up for me, and the inside of the guild looks nothing like it ususally does, it's layered in soft white satin, and all of my family at fairy tail are helping finish it. Levy, Erza, and Cana are my brides maids, they look beautiful in their gowns. Even little Wendy and Charle are super cute. Mira-jane is taking good care of me Mama, she is like a sister and a mom rolled into one beautiful package. Cana's father is going to give me away tomorrow, I wish Papa were here to give me away, but I know you both will be watching from the stars. I want you to be proud of me, tomorrow I will be starting my own family, and I am so happy. I miss you Mama, but I feel like your with me if only in my heart.

I Will always Love you so much,

Your daughter, Soon-to-be Lucy Dragneel.'

A tear rolled down Lucy's cheek as she sealed the envelope, she left it on the desk, moving to the couch with a blanket and a large book. She lost herself in the pages of her fairytale for a long time, till a sudden knock brought her back. "Coming." Lucy made her way to the door. Her jaw dropped as she opened the door to see Lissanna with blood shot eyes, and cracked lips. It looked like she had not stopped crying for days. In an instant Lucy wrapped her arms around Lissanna in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry" They both whispered. Both girls dissolved into tears as they made their way to the couch.

"I never meant to hurt you." Lucy sobbed

"I didn't want to feel jealous. I just couldn't make myself stop thinking how lucky you were and how much I wished I were you. But it didn't mean you hurt me Lucy, you didn't! I know you would never do something to hurt someone on purpose, you are an amazing friend and I love you as much as my own sister!" Lissanna sobbed freely.

"I want you to be happy too though!" Lucy was sobbing just as hard. The girls sat on the couch hugging each other while letting all the pain out, it felt good, like a weight lifted off each of them. After a long time the room fell silent, and the girls drifted to sleep, completely exhausted.

Gajeel looked at the stack of paper Levy has given him with a sigh. "She's been working hard on these for you." He handed the stack to Natsu. "She said that the man who wrote this diary was possibly the first real dragon slayer." Natsu shuffled through the pages. "She also said it'll help explain all four stages in detail, thought since you are already at stage four it should be obvious, but Levy insisted." Natsu raised an eyebrow before returning to the pages in his hands.

"This is really amazing, it covers everything. You should give this to Wendy to read later." Natsu continues scanning till his eyes caught something that made his face go completely scarlet. Gajeel laughed mercilessly at Natsu's reaction.

"Did you seriously not expect it to say that?" Gajeel was holding his sides his throaty laugh echoing around the small apartment.

"I figure it was something like that, I just didn't think it would be such a detailed discription." Natsu grumbled, embarassment straining his voice.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, and it looks complicated on paper, but you'll get it when the time comes." Natsu sighed putting the papers aside.

"Tomorrow will change everything won't it?" Gajeel gave him a sympathic look, and patted Natsu's shoulder.

"It will, but with the Luck you have, it'll be for the better." Gajeel punched Natsu in the arm and closed his eyes "Get some sleep kid." Natsu took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Happy had gone to sleep on the couch next to Lily a while ago, he wished that his pal was still awake to comfort his burning nerves. Tomorrow was the most important day of his whole life. He took another breath emptying his mind, and allowing the exhaustion from the day to take him under.

Gray had barely moved in the past few days. He just wanted to sit with his precious memories, not thinking about what tomorrow would bring. Gray's head shot up when there was a sharp knock on his front door. "GO AWAY." Gray yelled coldly.

"You know I can't do that, Gray. Now come open this damn door before I bust it in." Loke stood on the opposite side of his friends door, tapping his foot impatiently. A reluctent Gray pulled the door open. "You really trashed this place." Loke commented looking at the bits of broken everything spread across the small apartment. Gray shrugged and returned to his spot on the floor. Loke shook his head with a sigh. "I lost her too you know." Gray looked up to see a sad expression plaster to the playboys face. "As her spirit I could feel what she felt. And I can tell you that she thinks very highly of you, and of me. She loves us both, but it's not the way either of us want her to. Right now she is worried about you. her sadness is overwhelming. She feels responsible for hurting us with her choice. She is in pain because she thought we cared enough for her to be happy that she found the place she belongs. Don't you think she deserves to be happy, Gray?" Loke squatted on the floor infront of Gray, a serious expression hardening his eyes.

"It hurts." Gray said weakly, his voice was soft and filled with agony. Loke gave a sad smile.

"I know." he put a hand on Gray's shoulder." But it gets better with time. I know you are stronger than this Gray. She depends on us, are you going to let her down on the biggest day of her life?" Gray shot an angry glare at Loke. " She made her choice, Gray. But it doesn't mean you have to leave her life. Lucy is still Lucy, she doesn't want you to leave her, she loves you too. Will you be the thing that makes her cry, can you live with yourself if you are the thing that makes her cry?" Loke's voice was pained. "I know I can't watch her cry, even now she is sitting in her apartment with Lissanna sobbing like crazy. If Lissanna can be strong enough to put her feelings for Natsu aside, can't you?"

"I won't make her cry." Gray looked at the ground. "She means everything to me, I can't just walk away even if it means watching her with the idiot till he gets himself killed. I will protect her till the day I die." Gray's eyes were filled with determination, his voice steady with conviction.

"Thats better. For now we support her in any way we can, but promise you won't be the cause of the idiot's death, that would make Lucy very angry." This got a laugh out of Gray. "I'm heading back now. I am going to be temperaroly suspending my contract for tomorrow so Lucy can use her other spirit while I'm here. So I will come in the morning and we can face this together." Loke held out his fist, and Gray met it with his own before disappearing.

Mira giggled as she spoke to the Giant lycrima. "Tomorrow is the big day make sure you get here on time. Don't forget you need a female assistant and eqiptment that works in dim lighting. Be at the guild at 9 am sharp." The Lycrima cut off, and Mira smiled mischeviously. She made her way out to the bar.

"You made it!" She was so excited to see the last of the guild members, who they had been waiting for.

"So what is the big deal calling us back like that?" Evergreen asked slightly annoyed.

"There is a wedding tomorrow." Mira sang happily.

"Who's getting married sis?" Elfman asked curiously.

"Natsu." She shot him a sweet smile.

"W-What?" Bixlow, Freed and Laxus said at the same time.

"To WHO?" Evergreen asked shocked.

"Lucy of course!" Mira laughed, seriously, hadn't she said that this was coming for YEARS now.

"When did that happen, we weren't gone that long?" Freed inquired.

"It was quiet sudden, They announced it a week ago, it was rather romantic." Mira's eye couded over with a dreamy expression.

"How is Lissanna taking it?" Elfman leaned in to whisper.

"She is with Lucy right now. They have become close, but I guess it's hard not to love Lucy." Mira shrugged, deciding to ommit the last few days where Lissanna had not been alright.

"Well then, where is Natsu, we need to have a talk about manly things." Elfman puffed his chest out proudly. Mira giggled.

"Gajeel is taking care of the Manly talk, besides they had to work out some details for the dragon ceremony." Mira was met with confused glares. "I have to much to do to explain it all to you right now." Laxus smirked.

"He landed himself a desent one, I'm a bit jealous." Evergreen shot him a glare that he ignored. "That little one has a firey spirit, I'd say it's a good match for the boy." Mira smiled back, she liked the changes that being exciled had given to Laxus. He laughed and asked for a drink, Mira obliged.

"The ceremony is at sunset out behind the guild, try to be on time, I promise you will be glad you came back. Levy says that Natsu looks good in a tux, and Lucy, well let me just say She puts me and Erza to shame in her wedding gown." Evergreen looked a bit uncomfortable for a minute, then smiled. "We'll I'm going to check my supplies one more time, Elfman I'm going to need you first thing tomorrow to help with chairs and tables." She smiled sweetly and headed off the the kitchen.

"This is going to be interesting." Laxus smirked as he drained his cup. "I'm heading out. I'll meet up with you guys tomorrow about half an hour before sunset." there was a collective nodded and they disbursed.

~Next chapter is going to be AWESOME! I enjoy reading your opinions so don't be shy about reviewing. Even if you don't have anything nice to say I would love to hear your opinions. Thank you !


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Silk, lace, and spirits

"LU-CHAN!" Levy whined. "Come on you two get up or we are going to be late!" Levy poked the sleeping girls trying to rouse them from their heavy slumber. Levy was amused to not only find her friend's door unlocked, but Lucy and Lissanna curled up together on the couch. She thought to herself that maybe Mira was right, and Lissanna had come to terms with how awesome Lucy was for Natsu. Levy crossed her arms over her chest pouting. Suddenly a bucket of water came flying past her head, it hit the wall with enough force to break, spilling water and bits of wood across the now shivering, but awake duo.

"Good morning, go dry off and we'll head out." Erza said from Lucy's kitchen table, between sips of tea. Lissanna and Lucy looked at each other then laughed. Lucy decided to lend Lissanna a dry pair of pants and one of her sleep shirts, before dressing herself in a simple button down and jeans. She brushed her teeth and quickly combed her hair, the plan was to bath at fairy hills, so there was no sense in taking one yet. The girls emerge from the bedroom area arm in arm.

"Alright lets head out." Lucy grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. Levy looked up from the newest pages of Lucy's manuscript with a smile, while Erza took one last slow sip of her tea.

The hike to fairy hills was uneventful, Levy had taken hold of Lissanna, whispering enthusiastically about something Lucy couldn't make out, Erza kept to the back of the group a satisfied smile on her face. Lucy was becoming aware of the butterflies that seem to multiply by the minute. She tried hard to keep her breaths even and steady, but found there was no fighting the damn fluttering that overwhelmed her insides. They were greeted by Wendy and Cana at the front door. They smiled brightly, giving Lucy the urge to tackle them with hugs.

"The weather is perfect today Lucy, the fates must really love you." Cana giggled as they made their way into Erza's over sized suite. They all giggled nodding their agreement. As they enter the room Lucy took a deep breath, something smelled really good.

"First thing we need to take care of is feeding you." Levy said excitedly. Lucy looked over to see a wonderful table full of fresh cinnamon rolls, danishes and strawberries.

"I figured I would treat you this morning, your nerves much be completely frayed." Cana handed Lucy a tall wine glass filled with a slightly bubbling liquid. Lucy smelled the alcohol that laced the liquid, and smiled.

"Usually I would decline, but you are absolutely right Cana." Lucy drained the glass in one gulp, and handed it to Cana gesturing for another. The other girls laughed, Lucy looked around brow raised. "What, just cause I don't normally drink doesn't mean I can't hold my own." With a sheepish smile she accepted the freshly filled glass from Cana and drown it again, albeit slower this time.

"Lucy-san try the cinnamon rolls, they are fresh and tasty!" Wendy cheers as she nibbled one herself.

"I agree, we need to make sure you eat properly today, so you don't faint or something at the ceremony." Erza handed Lucy a roll, and Lucy accepted with a grateful smile.

"So, the ceremony isn't until sunset, why are we meeting up so early?" Lucy asked while biting into the soft, and warm roll, it was simply mouth watering. "You're right Wendy these are amazing!" Lucy was surrounded by smiling faces as she continued to eat.

"Reedus will be bringing the carriage at around four, YOU overslept, so that leave us with less time. Lets see we need hair and make up, which will take at least three hour, and your dress takes at least a half hour to get on properly. Mira also told me you might be getting a visitor around three. So to answer your question, we are giving you time to relax before it gets busy." Erza ticked off a finger with every event, seeming to add up the time before nodding and smiling. "Lets do your hair with the potion while we are just standing around, it takes a while." Erza left and was back so fast that Lucy's head nearly spun. "When you think it's long enough let me know and we will head down to the bath." Erza smiled pouring the potion on Lucy's hair, careful not to get any one the surrounding area. She carefully worked it though with gloved hands, before tying it with a ribbon and wrapping it with a towel.

"So Lu-chan are you excited about tonight?" Levy linked her arm through Lucy's. "Gajeel told me that they have been working out somethings super special since I gave them that journal. Apparently it's more complicated than we originally thought." Levy placed her head on Lucy's shoulder.

"The dragon ceremony is a little intimidating, but yeah I'm excited." Lucy patted Levy's hair lightly.

"Awe that's right, Natsu is going to be your first!" Cana added as she downed a glass of the sweet bubbling liquid.

Lucy flushed bright crimson.

"Well I've never dated anyone, so of course." Lucy answered defensively.

"Oh Lucy how's it feel to kiss him? I bet it's hot! Literally!" Cana giggled happily. Lucy looked at her hands, fidgeting slightly. "You have to be kidding me, you are getting married to him and you haven't even kissed him!" Cana was clutching her sides laughing. The others giggled lightly.

"It's not that big a deal." Lucy mumbled.

"It's not like that Cana, Natsu was waiting for completely different reasons. Lucy wanted to do things the right way and he is respecting that, and it is sweet! So shh!" Levy piped defensively.

"So does that mean Lucy-san has never been kissed?" Wendy asked innocently.

"No, I've been kissed." Lucy looked darkly at Cana as if to say 'Why did you need to bring this topic up?'. "And Natsu has kissed me, just not on the lips." Levy giggled at the admission.

"So if you don't count Nastu necking as a kiss, who was the kiss from?" Cana probed, handing Lucy another glass full. Lucy fidgeted uncomfortably for a minute, then downed the drink thinking before she answered.

"Actually I don't know if I would like to think of it as a real kiss either because it was an accident!" The others stared in amusement. Levy broke out laughing.

"So that's what Mira meant." Levy snickered. "You really thought that was an accident!" Lucy flushed again, throwing a strawberry at her friend.

"It was an accident, and I told him never to do it again." Lucy growled lowly, the others broke out into another fit of giggles.

"That still doesn't answer my question." Cana raised an eye brow.

"Ok I'll tell you, um well after we got back from Edolas, Natsu wasn't spending any time with me, and I needed to pay my rent, so Gray offered to go on a mission with me." Lucy took a breath, trying to ignore the giggles from her friends. " We camped out on the way back, and while I was a sleep I guess I kind of inched over, because I'm so used to Natsu being with me, I guess my body was trying to find the warmth I'm used to sleeping with. Well the next thing I knew I was waking up with Grays arms around me and His lips were on mine. I slapped him and told him to never speak about it, and to never think about doing it again. It was embarrassing." Lucy looked at her hands.

"Well, that makes some other things clearer. Poor Gray." Lissanna said with a mocked sad smile.

"Poor Loke too, He always gets the you can go back now, with a scowl after he professes his undying love for Lucy." Erza said. Lucy flushed deeper.

"Our Lu-chan only has eyes for Natsu! Its so adorable. I wonder how Natsu was able to put up with other guys fawning over you for so long." Levy bobbed happily wrapping her arms around herself.

"He was playing ignorant, he told me that he came close to killing Gary several times for getting to close, but he played it like he was angry about something else." Lissanna said with a smirk. "And not to mention when you guys went on that mission with the other guilds. He said that if he hadn't been on that stupid raft he would have put that Loke look-a-like through a tree, for looking at the Gemini version of you. I hear that was a pretty eventful mission for the both of you." Lissanna was giggling remembering how angry Natsu had gotten when he recounted the events for her entertainment. He really was hopeless.

"So, you mean Natsu admitted to you?" Cana chocked out.

"Yeah, over the first two weeks that I was back from Edolas, he told me everything. From the port of Hargeon, to the cell in Edolas when they told him they were going to kill you. He spent days going though every detail, I don't think I have ever seen him so fired up." Lissanna laughed at her little pun. "I knew Lucy in Edolas, and we were friends, but I never really liked the way she beat up on Edo-Natsu, it just seemed wrong to watch Natsu get beat by a girl all the time. So I was quite surprised when he told me how often you beat him up. He never complained, he just laughed and told me he wished you'd get that pissed at the people you guys fought up against." Lucy laughed out loud hard. "Oh speaking of, how did it feel to be on fire? That must have been fun!" Lissanna asked giggling. The others looked confused.

"I was fighting Kain when we were on the island and he had this weird doll that controlled the movement of whom ever's hair was inserted into it's head. He chased me and we ended up on Natsu's battle ground. He was taking on Ultear, we decided to team up, but some how Kain had gotten a hold of one of my hairs, so he was using me to beat Natsu up. Natsu got caught in a landslide and was trapped under some rocks and couldn't move. Some how happy got his hands on the dolls and Natsu used it to make me fight. That was not fun, he got the bright idea to light the doll on fire, not knowing if it would hurt me and well yea we beat the guy. My clothes were completely ruined though." Lucy sighed.

"So what happened to the doll?" Levy asked curiously.

"Honestly I have no clue. I was getting revenge on Happy the last time I had my hands on it." Lucy shrugged.

"So, how did Gray kiss?" Lissanna asked an amused smirk on her lips.

"Erza I think we should check the length." Lucy said, desperate to change the topic of discussion. Lissanna just laughed, getting a pastry for herself. Erza gently untied the towel and held up a mirror, Lucy nodded her thanks. "I think that this is long enough." With that the girls headed down to the shared bath. Cana immediately sank into the bath, Levy busied herself with washing her hair, Wendy and Lissanna joined Cana, after tying their hair up, Erza pointed Lucy to the shower heads.

"Wash out the potion before you shampoo, the water deactivates it." Erza requiped out of her dress and joined the bath. Lucy stood under the running water, letting the heat soak into her scalp. She noted the extra weight from the wet length of her hair, it clung to her body, warping down to her waist, her bangs lay around the sides of her face, down to her shoulders. She could get used to having hair this long, it felt good. She brushed her finger though the golden treads, making sure every inch was saturated. When she was satisfied that all the potion was washed away, she continued with her normal showering routine.

Lucy wrapped her hair tightly on the top of her head and slide into the bath with the others. It wasn't long before the girls started to dry off and head to get dressed. "Lucy I put a dress out for you, please were it when you come back to the room." Erza said as she toweled her long hair. "We'll meet you upstairs, take your time." Lucy smiled at her friend and melted into the hot water, letting the alcohol work it's magic on her nerves.

Lucy smiled to her self, remember how good it felt to fight along side Natsu as an equal. Even though she had exhausted her Magic, she never gave up. He gave her the courage to risk it all, for the chance to protect what was important. He was her partner, and she loved him deeply, no matter how obnoxious, or dense he acted, she was certain that she would always love him. Feeling more comfortable, she got out of the bath, and wrapped herself in a towel.

Lucy found the dress Erza had instructed her to wear, it was a strapless tea length gown, brightly colored flowers cascading from the the bust like a rain shower of petals. Lucy slide it on admiring the way the black silk, and fine layers of tulle bounce with every movement she made. Lucy tucked her hair back into a pony tail with a pink ribbon that had been set beside the gown. Erza had even left a pair of simple black pumps. "I wonder what this is all about." Lucy mused as she headed back to Erza's suite. As she opened the door, she nearly fell over from shock.

"Surprise!" Lucy looked around to see familiar female faces.

"Mira-nee wanted to come, but she said she needed to make sure everything was perfect." Lissanna bobbed to Lucy's side wrapping and arm though Lucy's, she was wearing a simple purple gown, Lucy looked around and noticed everyone was dresses up.

"We are throwing you a shower!" Levy beamed taking Lucy's other arm. A bright smile spread across the blonde's face.

"Thanks guys." She walked into greet the others. She made her way to the back where Bisca and Lucky were chattering. Bisca seemed to be tearing up as she remembered the day she married Alzack, which was greeted with a wave of sighs, most of the woman had been trapped in the fairy sphere for that event. Juvia came over spotting Lucy, and greeted her 'Love rival' with a warm hug.

"Juvia was so happy to hear the good news!" Lucy laughed.

"I'm so glad you made it back in time!" Juvia returned a warm smile and laugh of her own.

"Juvia almost fainted when Mira told Juvia that you were getting married. I am VERY glad Lucy has picked Natsu. Juvia wishes you and Natsu a happy marriage!" Inwardly Lucy slapped herself, thinking that Juvia probably automatically jumped to the conclusion that she had stolen Gray, which she did not. She smiled back at her blue haired friend.

"That is sweet of you, Juvia. So where were you anyway, Mira didn't say anything about you taking a mission?" The blush that rose on Juvia's cheeks peeked Lucy's interest.

"Juvia was visiting Lyon-sama." It came in a same voice only for Lucy to hear. The shock was evident on Lucy's face.

"Did you give up on Gray?" Lucy breathed. Juvia shook her head.

"Gray-sama is still wonderful, but so is Lyon-sama, and he is so nice to Juvia." Her eyes became clouded and dreamy. "Juvia likes to be noticed and he gives Juvia flowers and takes Juvia on walks." Her hands clenched together in front of her chest, as she released a squeal.

"I'm happy you found someone who sees you Juvia, you deserve that." Lucy gave her friend a quick hug, before making her way to Erza.

"This was your doing I guess." Lucy received a proud smile from Erza. "I never even thought about having a party with the other girls, thank you." Lucy hugged her red headed friend.

"It was Mira and Levy who got it started, and with only a few days to plan we did our best. Oh and the dress your wearing was a present from Madam, she told me that she wishes you a happy marriage and that she wants pictures." Lucy was smiling as she replied.

"I know, but it's still wonderful. And I'll try, but I'm in the ceremony." Erza patted Lucy's head with a satisfied smile.

"Lucy-san!" Wendy bobbed over happily. "Charle is still at the guild helping Mira with some last minute things so she told me to give you our present without her." Wendy pointed to a table. Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she saw a table full of brightly colored bags. "Who want to see Lucy-san open her presents?" Wendy chimed brightly. Every one shouted their agreement excitedly. Lucy was pushed into a chair and was handed a colorful bag. Tentatively Lucy looked inside, pulling out a card that was from Lucky. Lucky looked over to see Lucy hesitate and smiled urging Lucy to keep looking. Lucy pulled aside the colorful tissue paper to find a whip with little spikes on the end.

"I thought you could switch things up sometimes." She winked, Lucy suddenly remembered what Lucky's room looked like and gulped, but thanked her just the same. A bright green bag was pushed onto her lap next, the card read Evergreen. Lucy looked up to see the beautiful woman in her usual attire, she gave a masked smile to Lucy. Lucy looked through the white tissue paper to find three very lacy night gowns one black, one white and one gold. Lucy's cheeks flushed.

"I figured you didn't own many of those." Evergreen shrugged, but smiled slyly to Lucy. Lucy laughed nervously, somewhat afraid of the other bags. The next one placed on her lap was a sparkling blue bag, it was smaller than the others, the tag said it was from Juvia. Lucy looked up with a bright smile, which was returned. Inside was a small black box that housed a Fairy tail emblem charm bracelet in gold.

"It's beautiful Juvia." Lucy breathed. The next bag was pushed onto her lap forcefully. the card read Erza. The bag was heavy, and Lucy smelled something sweet. She searched though the papers to find a bottle of strawberry perfume, it was large enough to last two whole years, Lucy saw Erza blush.

"I figured since Strawberry's are so tasty that they might make a nice as perfume too." Lucy jumped to hug Erza but was immediately pushed back into the seat with an other bag. This one was black, inside was a long delicate veil, that was dotted with crystals that sparkled happily in the light.

"I was talking to Mira and she said you didn't have one, so when I found this I had to get it for you." Bisca said proudly. The next bag was a very pale blue, the tag said Wendy and Charle. Lucy pulled out a handmade Black and gold outfit.

"Levy-san told us how much you like things to match, so Charle and I made you an outfit to match Natsu-san!" Wendy said proudly. Lucy hugged it with her thanks. A white bag was handed over next, inside was a bottle of fire whiskey and a bottle of clear bubbling liquid.

"Newlyweds need their own private stock." Cana winked. Swiftly a LARGE bag was passed to Lucy. Levy was written in bold lettering on its side.

"You'll like it I promise!" Levy giggled. Lucy looked at the over sized bag with a sad smile, she looked inside to find a dozen packs of white sheets, a plush pillow a binding of rope and a fire extinguisher.

"Are you trying to tell me something here Levy-chan?" Lucy shot her friend a sever look. Levy laughed.

"You still have to finish stage four Lu-chan, you may find you need those, Natsu is a FIRE dragon after all." There was a chorus of giggles. Lucy turned red again. "Oh the last one is from Mira and Lissanna." Levy handed Lucy the purple bag. Lucy was definitely scared to look this time. She shifted the white and blue tissue and her cheeks flared absolute crimson.

"L-L-Lissanna!" She yelled, embarrassment filling her completely.

"Like Levy said you still have to handle stage four, no reason not to make it fun." Lissanna gave Lucy a bright mischievous smile. "There is plenty there to keep you busy for days!" Lissanna added with a laugh. The girls all laughed and begged to see what was in the bag, Lucy held it tight, to embarrassed to let anyone see. After a while Erza took control of the crowd.

"Alright it's time to start getting ready, we'll see you all in a couple of hours." There were sighs and moans of disapproval, before they filed out leaving Lucy alone with her bridal party. She took a deep breath and summoned Cancer.

"So it is the big day right, Lucy -ebi?" He asked as he played with her long hair. Erza brought two boxes and the veil for Cancer to look at. "Can I see the dress -ebi?" Levy lead him into the other room, when they came back Cancer explained that he needed to get somethings, and that he would need to be called back in ten minutes.

When Cancer was summoned back he set right to work, trimming the ends of Lucy's magically lengthened hair, he cut back the bangs to frame her face, curling them. He started to braid her hair into small and thick ropes. Cancer took his time positioning each strand of hair perfectly. He took some of the hair that lay at the base of her neck and curled it off to the side, so it lay over her left shoulder he tied a glossy gold ribbon over the the little flame mark on her chest. Delicate wisps of golden hair fell from the elegant knotting of braids atop Lucy's head. Cancer carefully pushed the small golden pin into the base of the maze. He turned to her face, lightly applying glittering star dust over her delicate lids, he brushed her lips with a deep crimson. He gently exchanged her heart earrings for her mothers. Then he gently took the Tiara from the box and laid it carefully on top of her head. He took a step back and smiled, before getting to work on the other four.

There was a knock on the door. Erza made her way to greet her guest. "You came earlier than we expected." Erza smiled inviting the small green haired girl who carried a camera and equipment around her neck into join the gang. "Your name is Violet right? This is Lucy, Levy, Wendy, Cana and I am Erza." Erza pointed out each girl who waved hello when their names were called. "Mira sent you early for a reason right?" Erza walked over to Cancer who had Just finished Levy's simple up do, bound with gold threads.

"Um yes, I was asked to take some shots of the group before the ceremony, I am also supposed to stay close by." She said nervously.

"Hi Violet, would you like something to eat, we have some sandwiches left from the shower." Lucy gave the seemingly frightened girl a sweet smile and took her arm leading her to the table that had originally housed their lavish breakfast. The girl seem surprised by the gesture. "There is no need to be shy, Here have one." The girl accepted, awestruck, a slight blush crept onto her cheeks. "Now then what type of pictures does Mira want?" Lucy asked delicately.

"Well I didn't talk to Miss Mira myself, my boss did and he told me to get as much as I can, and he will sort through them later. But Miss Lucy I would really love to take picture of you and the others in these gowns before you get changed is that ok?" By this time Wendy was the last needing to get her hair done. Cana's was pulled back in to a butterfly clip, thick curls rolling down her back, Caner had left one curl free on either side of her face, and brushed her eye lids with gold glitter dust. He had painted her lips deep red giving earrings that dangled like Lucy's. Erza's hair had been swept up into an elegant knot small curls hanging on either side of her bang, she too had the gold dusting on her eyes and deep red lips. Levy seem to be the only one who only wore pink lips, her eyes sporting the same gold dust.

"Of course, you would actually be doing me a favor, the woman who made my dress requested a picture of me in it." Lucy smiled brightly. Wendy soon joined the others her hair had been braided into a ring around her head, spotted with delicate white flower she wore the gold dusting on her eyes and a simple clear gloss on her lips.

Violet just stared for a moment, shocked that so many beautiful women could exist in one place. She mental shook herself, readying her camera. "I want to take a few like this, just chat and go about what you were doing, you wont even notice me." Lucy smiled at her again.

"If you want anything to eat or drink, help yourself. We really do have plenty to share." The girl gave a bright smile, cheeks ablaze. "Alright Erza time to check the gowns" Lucy made her way to the storage room where Erza had been keeping their gowns, their male counter parts had already been moved to a secure location (Fairytail) under the diligent eyes of Mira-jane. Lucy inspected each garment, top to hem. She gave Erza a satisfied smile. There was another knock at the door, Erza went out, returning with a slightly flustered Charle.

"Stupid he-cat." She was muttering, holding her precious tail ribbon that seem to be burnt at the ends. Lucy's eyes widened.

"What happened, is everything ok? Natsu didn't burn the whole place down did he?" Lucy was nearly hyperventilating, Levy fanned her the best she could, and Erza brought over a chair.

"Stupid he-cat tried to give me a fish again, and when I said no he asked if I would like it better if it was cooked, I said maybe, and the next thing I knew he was pushing a FLAMING fish toward me! It caught my tail ribbon when I yelled for him to put it out. Mira was not happy. but everything else is fine." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. She turned back to Wendy a serious look on her face. "You spoil that stupid he-cat." she said severely.

Wendy hugged Charle tightly, before handing her the ribbon Cancer had left for her. Charle seemed to settle down as Wendy tied the new ribbon on Charle, healing the slightly burned fur.

"Ok Now that we are all here, lets start getting ready!" Cana cheered, handing Lucy one last glass of delicious liquid courage.

"Lu-chan do we really need to wear these?" Levy asked holding up a black corset. Lucy nodded, a serious look on her face. "Why doesn't Wendy have to were one?" Levy whined. Lucy gave her friend an amused look, hands on her hips.

"Wendy is a kid, Levy-chan, she doesn't have the "assets" to need one." Erza and Cana laughed at the sour look Levy shot back, as if she would try getting out of wearing the thing by saying she was not well endowed herself, Never! She scoffed and turned to start pulling on her skin tone thigh high stockings.

"If you wouldn't mind" Erza said politely escorting Violet out into the main hall. Lucy summoned Virgo.

"How can I help, Princess?" She bowed slightly.

"I need your help today, these corsets are a royal pain, there are four of us that need to get laced up." Lucy motioned to the other woman who had already begun to strip down. Virgo bowed and started working on the other girls. It didn't take long to lace there black silk corsets, and slip on their dresses. "Cana will you and the others go keep Violet company while I get changed." Lucy pleaded. The group filed out of the room leaving Lucy and Virgo alone. Lucy stood in front of the floor length mirror admiring the black dress she was currently wearing.

With a small sigh she slipped it off, she slowly pulled on the white lace under garment that Mira and Lissanna had gotten for her earlier that week. She continued with the Garter belt, Virgo handed her the key pouch that they had also gotten, it was pure white and leather, Lucy attached it to her belt, the cool leather gave her skin goose bumps. Virgo slowly slide the white silk knee high stocking up and attached them carefully to the belt. once both sides were secure she pushed the lacy garter up to rest on the buttons that connected the fabric. Lucy stood, arms spread wide allowing Virgo to wrap the cool silk corset around her body. Virgo adjusted Lucy's shapely form before securing the Blue ribbon pulling it tightly. Lucy steadied herself, she kept her eyes on her reflection, watching the transformation. When Virgo had tied the cords off properly, she retrieved the gown. Lucy stepped into the thick layers of it gracefully. She settle her arms into the lace sleeve-lets, as the lay just off her shoulder, Virgo worked diligently at the buttons. Lucy reached up and grabbed her necklace, rubbing the N L inscribe in the heart, and smiled.

"You are done Princess, Don't leave the room yet, someone wishes to speak with you." For a moment the air grew thick, time itself seemed to come to a halt. Lucy's eyes widened at the form in front of her.

"Well, well. I must say you put your mother to shame in that gown. She would be proud to she her most treasured jewel sparkle so brightly." Lucy's shock kept the words in her throat. "I adjusted my appearance to visit you today Lucy, I see that Leo got the Tiara to you with out a problem, it suites you." Lucy raised a confused eyebrow.

"Well then it seems he didn't deliver it personally. That is the Crown of the Celestial Queen, I saw it fitting to lend it to you, who is her successor." Lucy still found it hard to speak so instead she wrapped her arms around the man. Her voice seemed to return for an instant, and she released him.

"It was clever to take the form of my father." She smiled, at the Celestial King who smiled warmly back at her.

"I wanted to see you in person when Leo told me of the circumstances. I have a present for you young one." He held out a box, wrapped in gold paper and a white ribbon. "Don't open it till after your Ceremonies are complete. I promise you will be happy with them." Lucy hugged him again and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered holding the box close to her chest. He had already disappeared, and time started again. Lucy made her way out of the storage room, eyes sparkling.

"Lu-chan I didn't realize how much work these silly things were, did you really always have to wear them?" Levy whined, adjusting her top.

"Mama viewed me as her precious jewel, and jewels need to be polished and given a fine foundation on which to shine. My father took those words to heart, He was proud to dress me up and show me off, even if it was only when I earned him more business, still he viewed me as his most precious possession, his most valuable jewel." Lucy focused on the box in her hands, trying not to think of the pain talking about her father caused.

"Lucy-san what do you have there?" Wendy asked from the window ledge.

"Oh It's a present from the Spirit King, he came to pay me a visit." Lucy hugged the box closer to her chest. "I'm not allowed to open it yet though."

"Wow Miss Lucy is a very important person to have a private audience with the Spirit King himself." Violet's eyes were wide.

"I suppose I am, he said I am the successor to the Celestial Queen." The girls were becoming worried by the even and dead tone in Lucy's voice.

"Lucy put your finger on your mark for me." Levy prompted nervously. Lucy did as instructed, and instantly felt warm and safe, the smile returned to her face. "That's what I thought. You've been away from him to long." Levy giggled. Lucy raised an eyebrow, Levy rarely called her Lucy. "The mark links our hearts, so any time you feel weak or vulnerable touch it, and you will feel him. It's how the dragons eased the sorrow of being apart during hunting season." Levy smiled with pride.

"You're such a book worm Levy-chan, but thank you. I was just a little shaken about papa. I really miss him." Lucy said sadly. "But I know that he and Mama can see me from the stars, that's why we are having a sunset ceremony. Mama used to tell me when I was little that our loved ones are the first stars that come out in the night sky, and that they will always watch over us, and lead us in the right direction. So At Sunset, Mama and Papa will be able to watch me." Violet swelled with emotions she had never felt. This woman was the most loving, caring, beautiful creature she had ever seen. She continued taking pictures of them, the shy smiles, the broad grins, the playful smirks.

"Miss Lucy can I get a picture of you by the window?" Lucy smiled and perched herself on the window ledge, hand gracefully laid in her lap. Her grown swept around her and she smiled brightly for the young woman. Violet took several picture instructing Lucy on how to pose, she included the other into several shots. Finally, the time came to make their way down stairs.

Lucy's heart pounded angrily against her chest, as they walked out into the sun light. Reedus greeted them from atop a delicate golden carriage drawn by a white horse, the reins in his hands. Lucy's eyes watered, but she held back the tears. "My god Reedus this is beautiful!" Lucy was so happy, words really couldn't explain it.

"Are you ready to head down, it will take a while." Reedus asked with a warm smile. Lucy looked to the sky, the sun was already descending. She walked forward, Erza opened the door, and gave Lucy her hand to help her up. "Mira said it is safe for you to go into the guild, and wait on the second floor, She has the men secure some where else. They aren't allowed to enter the guild at all until she says so." Erza was please to hear this. The girls took their seats in the spacious carriage and took a collective deep breath.

"We're ready when you are Reedus!" Levy chimed. The ride took almost as long as it would have if they had walked. The quiet was grating on Lucy's nerves, she remembered what Levy had said and placed he finger on the little flame, she was instantly filled with warmth, she took a deep breath before letting her hand slip. "No need to be nervous Lu-chan, everything is going as planned. Now, make sure not to let Natsu burn your dress later, I have Gajeel making sure he doesn't drink to much so that is won't be a problem, but you know how he gets when he is excited." Lucy laughed.

"Yes I do, but he seems more restrained since the marks. I haven't had to yell at him for anything really, it's been so nice." Levy and Lucy smiled at each other. Violet was still snapping away, purely amazed. The carriage shook, then stopped moving, Reedus opened the door after a minute.

"Sorry I wanted to make sure the coast was clear, I'll help you down." Reedus held out his hand, Violet was the first out, camera aimed at the other women. Cana who was closest to the exit hopped down, fallowed by Wendy and Charle, then Erza fallowed by Levy, and lastly Lucy. Lucy noticed that Erza had several bags with her.

"What's in there Erza?" She asked as they made their way through the guild doors and up the stairs to the second floor.

"Your veil, and a change of dress so that we don't have to chance Natsu destroying your mother's by accident. I also brought the boxes for your jewelry." Erza pointed to the bags as she talked. "OH we need to put on your veil!" Erza pulled it out of the bag carefully unrolling it. "Cancer told me how to put it on for you, so stay still." Erza gently tucked the comb on the end of the veil behind the tiara, letting it rest deep in the folds of braided gold. "There." She stepped back pulling the wail out around Lucy's back, it ran down to her shoulders gracefully. Cana came up and flipped the shorter piece of delicate tulle around Lucy's face.

"You guys are right on time!" Mira appeared at the top of the stairs with a box full to the brim with flowers. "I have your Bouquets!" She sang merrily. Mira placed the box on the table and Reedus excused himself. Mira handed the brides maids simple bouquets of red roses, Wendy was given a bouquet of Red poppies. Charle was handed a basket of white roses petals, and Lucy, was given a bouquet that spilled over the top with white Orchids. She could smell the sweet white lilies, the fushia snapdragons, and the vibrant red roses. English ivy branched its way down to greet the orchids hanging to Lucy's mid-thighs.

"They are perfect Mira, thank you." Lucy was on the verge of tears again.

"Now Lucy, no crying yet." Mira hugged her shoulders. "It's almost time, come down to the kitchen with me." With a deep breath they went down the stairs, Lucy kept to the back of the group. "Natsu is already outside so you don't need to hold your breath Lucy." Mira giggled. As they walked into the kitchen, they were greeted by the guys. Loke and Gray made their way to Lucy both with wide eyes, Lucy had let the veil fall back from her face. The boys smiled at each other for a second.

"You look perfect!" They coursed together. The others were watching carefully, ready to tackle either boy if they dared make a move on their precious Lucy. To the women relief The men seemed to have it under control.

"Hey give her some space!" Gajeel grabbed the two by the back of their tuxs and pulled them over to Mira.

"Ok so the line up is easy, First is Gajeel and Levy, Next after a twenty second interval will be Cana and Loke, then Erza and Gray, Happy and Charle you will go next, and Wendy you are just before Lucy. Gildarts wait 45 seconds before you bring Lucy out. Alright when you hear the music you can go! Good Lucky and you all look wonderful!" Mira crept out the door. Lucy took a deep breath, pulling the veil back over her face. Gildarts offered his arm and Lucy linked her own through it.

"Don't worry, the walk is the easy part." Gildarts smiled, Lucy tried to smile back, but found herself trembling. "Just think about where you are going, who your going to, and take a deep breath." They heard violins and a harp from the garden.

"Here we go." Levy said as her and Gajeel walked out, Lucy mentally counted to 20 before hearing the door open again, Cana and Loke were gone another 20 seconds counting silently. Gray and Erza exited. next up was Charle and Happy, fallowed by a happily bouncing Wendy. Ok only 45 seconds that isn't even a minute.

Internally she counted down 5,4,3,2,1.

"It's our turn." The music stopped. Gildarts pushed the door open, momentarily blinding the both of them. Lucy tried to take in the screen unfolding in front of her. Her friends were all there, surrounding her with proud smiles, the harp was picking a sweet and sad tune, her legs moved of their own accord making her move at a steady pace up the white linen, lined by poppies and white rose petals. A gentle breeze blew the sakura trees causing tiny pink petals to float down around them. Lucy's eyes found what she was looking for, up in the gazebo lined by the red light of the setting sun was Natsu. Her eyes searched over his white tux complete with his scarf draped under the lapel. He wore a red rose which was shocking against the white fabric. His hands were covered in thick white gloves, and his top hat sat slightly to the side on top of his slicked back pink hair. To put it mildly, he was dazzling, with that playful grin she loved so much plastered to his face. Lucy's heart hummed as Gildarts stopped.

"Who gives this woman away?" Master asked from a podium behind Natsu.

"I give this woman away." He said proudly pulling back Lucy's veil and leaning next to her ear. "Just don't forget to breath, you'll do fine." He turned back to Master and shook hands with Natsu, whispering in his ear as well. Gildarts put Lucy's hand in Natsu's then walked to his seat. Lucy and Natsu walked up to stand with the bridal party in front of the podium.

"We of Fairy tail have gathered here this evening to witness something truly precious. We are family here, and now two of my beloved children will be starting a new life together. Each and every one of us is overjoyed at this long awaited event!" There was a momentary brake for cheers. "Is there any among you who has reason to appose this union?" Master paused for a minute allowing the silence to fill the air. "Now then, Natsu Dragneel, this is an everlasting promise to always love one another no matter the hardships life may throw your way. Do you vow to spend your life protecting and supporting each other, till the day you die?" Master took a break allowing Natsu to answer.

"I do" His eyes never left Lucy's.

"Lucy Heartfellia, this is an everlasting promise to always love one another no matter the hardships life may throw your way. Do you vow to spend the rest of your life protecting and supporting each other, till the day you die?"

"I do" Lucy smiled, happy tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Happy, the rings." Gajeel handed the little box to Happy who handed it to Natsu. Natsu removed his left glove before he took out two ring, handing one to Lucy. Each of them place the ring half way onto the other's left ring finger. "These rings are an outward symbol of the promises and vow you have made here today. They are the never ending circle that no out side force can break. These rings bind your spirits as the marks on your chest bind your hearts. As you give each other the ring you become one life, one soul, one heart." Natsu pushed the ring up Lucy's finger, Lucy did the same smiling brightly. "With this I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Natsu wrapped a hand around the back of Lucy's neck pulling her face towards his. He leaned down trapping her lips with his own, a wave of heat rushed through Lucy as she wrapped her arms around his neck in return. The crowd was cheering in the dim light of setting sun. The fireflies flickered to life casting a magic feel over the scene. Natsu broke the kiss, smiling "Finally" he breathed. Lucy gave a light laugh and grabbed his hand.

"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Natsu Dragneel." The crowd whooped and hollers as Lucy and Natsu made their way to the end of the linen runner, the guild members threw bits of rice as the couple walked by. Lucy turned to look up at the sky, her eye caught a star twinkle and she smiled sadly.

"I hope they are proud." She whispered as she turned to walk through the door.

"They are Luce." Natsu squealed her hand, "How could they not be." He kissed her cheek and worked his way into the main hall. Lucy took in a sharp breath when she saw the room in front of them. Dozens of tables were set up with black cloths, white napkins and silver plates. tall candles sprouted from gold candelabras. The Head table was positioned on the stage with a white cloth, red napkins and gold plates delicate flower lined the whole table. The walls were lined with white silk, while silver and gold metallic satin hung from the middle of the false ceiling, they were pinned at intervals along the roof, allowing them to drape gracefully. Colorful stars and heart dance around the room. The sound of violins and the harp broke Lucy out of her stunned staring.

"Everyone find your seats, it's time for their first dance." Mira said seriously. Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her out to the middle of the floor, the music died for a second.

"Do you know how to dance, Natsu?" Lucy whispered in a worried tone.

"Mira and Erza have been tutoring me, I'm not the best, but I'll try." He grinned. Lucy positioned herself in her well trained waltz stance. Natsu put his right hand on her arm, and place his left on her waist. The music started, and Natsu took the lead. Lucy was able to fallow his lead easily. "They were right." Natsu whispered in her ear. She looked at him confused. "Mira and the others said you looked like a princess in your mom's gown, they were right." He spun her away and back into his chest, dipping her backward. The hall was filled with cheers as the couple smiled at each other. They continued to twirl gracefully across the hall, eyes locked on the others.

"You sell yourself short Natsu, that was very well done." Lucy whispered as he pulled her back to his chest, He had spun her in a circle around himself. He smirked dipping her once again. The music ended and they made their way to the head table. Their bridal party filed in chatting happily.

"LU-CHAN!" Levy squealed. "That was absolutely AMAZING!" Levy sat next to Lucy, bouncing slightly in her seat. "I hope mine is this beautiful." She said she put her hands to her cheeks that dreamy expression taking over. Before they know it food was on their plates. Lucy smiled to see Natsu attempting to eat at human speed. Lucy enjoyed the meal and the drink, it was the same she had been drinking all day. Cana had good take, she thought to her self as she enjoyed the cooling sensation it gave her.

"Time for the toast." Mira was behind Lucy with a fresh glass. Lucy tapped her fork against the glass as she and Natsu stood up holding up their drinks.

"Thank you all for making it here, you are the best family anyone could ever ask for! It means the world to me that you are all here to share in our happiness!" Lucy smiled tears forming in her eyes.

"What she said" Natsu said with a smirk. They lifted their glasses as a sign, their guild mates held up their glasses as well. Lucy down the drink like she had the first.

"Time to change!" Levy announced, dragging Lucy up the stairs. She found Virgo waiting, she was quickly stripped and put back in the tea length black dress. the veil, tiara and earring were removed, her white satin shoes were swapped with the black pumps her heart earring replaced and the fairytail bracelet clamped around her wrist. "Ok that'll work." Levy dragged Lucy back down and threw her at Natsu.

"What was that about?" Natsu raised a brow as he looked over the change of clothing.

"The girls were worried that if I didn't get changed that you might accidentally ruin my wedding gown." Natsu laughed.

"They are probably right, how long do we have to stay, I wanna go home." He breathed in her ear. Lucy's face flushed. Nastu's lips trailed from her ear down the side of her neck.

"After the cake, i think we can slip away." Lucy breathed back weakly.

"Ok, break it up a minute, you have a bouquet to toss." Mira shook her finger at the two but smiled. "After the cake I'll cover for you." Lucy jumped into Mira's arms whispering thank you over and over. "Yeah. Yeah. Now go already." Lucy made her way over to the dance floor. Where all the unmarried women of the guild were crowded. Mira walked over, holding Lucy's bouquet.

"Ok I'm going to count to three so get ready." Lucy turned her back to her friends. "ONE, TWO, THREE!" She threw it into the crowd of women and heard a familiar shriek. Lucy turned to see a tomato red Levy holding the bouquet. "Good for you Levy-chan!" Lucy giggled.

Mira came back and pulled Lucy to the other side of the hall. "It's tradition to dance with the whom ever asks, and you have a line." Mira smirked giving Lucy's hand to Gildarts.  
>"See I told you that walking was the easy part." He laughed. Lucy smiled up at the older man and could see why all the guild member her age looked at him as a father figure, he was what Lucy wanted in a father, kind and funny, and there when he needed a hand. The dance ended and Lucy was passed off to Freed.<p>

"It was a beautiful wedding, I'm very happy for you both." Lucy glowed giving her thanks.

Next in line was Loke. "Your happy right?" he started as he spun her elegantly around the floor.

"Never been happier in all my life." Lucy replied. Loke smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You are one of the most important people to me Loke, a precious friend, and I don't ever want to lose you." His smile fell and he looked Lucy in the eye seriously.

"I will always come when you need me. Just because I can't have you for my own, doesn't mean I'm going to abandon you. I could never do something like that, you are to precious to me." Lucy gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. before accepting her next partner. Laxus of all people.

"So, you ended up choosing the flame boy huh." he said conversationally.

"Yes I chose Natsu." She replied coolly. "He is my match in every way." She smiled and the smirk on Laxus' face grew into a genuine smile.

"I'm glad he was able to land a girl with enough spirit to handle his stupid ass." Lucy wasn't sure if that was a compliment of an insult. She shrugged with a smile and excepted her next partner.

"This is hard" Gray said as he put his and on Lucy's small waist. "It's hard to watch you happy with him." He continued.

"Gray, since we became a team, you have been there to support me and I really appreciate that, but I could never see you as more than a good friend. I know it seems like you want me, but have you ever tired looking at anyone else the way you see me?" Lucy had a sad look in her eyes, she knew her words would cut him, but it needed to be done. "You are precious to me Gray, I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything, but that all it was ever meant to be. You need to stop holding on to something that was never yours to begin with."

"I know." He said quietly. "I've known for a long time, but knowing doesn't make it easy to do Lucy. I won't stop being your friend, and I won't quit the team, I would rather do what I can to be there for you. You are precious to me, and I would do anything for you." Gray smiled weakly. "Even stand by my best friend as he marries the woman I love." Gray released his hold and walked away. Lucy stared after him, a sad smile as she knew he was trying really hard not to fall apart. She saw him take a large glass of dark liquid and drain it.

Bixlow took her waist wurling Lucy around the floor wildly. Finally Natsu came to the rescue!

"Cake cutting time!" He winked at his wife. As he pulled her over to the beautiful 6 tiered cake. "Looks good Mira!" Natsu said happily.

"Are you ready?" Mira handed them a knife, "Now take your time, so we can get good pictures." Mira walked over and whispered in Natsu's ear. He smirked and turned back to Lucy.

"Ready we'll do it on three." Lucy nodded leaning the knife on the bottom layer of the cake. "One, Two, Three." they cut two pieces of cake, Natsu grabbed his piece and shoved it in Lucy's face. She huffed and returned the favor smiling as she licked the icing from her top lip.

"Ok you two go get cleaned up." Mira said with a wink. Natsu didn't need to be told twice, swiftly he picked Lucy up and cradled her against his chest, running for the guild doors. With a kick they were out in the night air.

**Oh Next chapter is going to be juicy!**


	10. Chapter 10

**WARNING WARNING : HONEYMOON **

Chapter:10 A Dragon's Vow

Lucy's POV

I kept my eyes closed against the wind that Natsu's speed was creating. My arms were knotted behind his neck, as I cradled my head into his warm shoulder. My heart was pounding so hard I swore it would break my rib cage. Suddenly we stopped, Natsu reach for the door, balancing me on one arm. "We're home" He aid softly. Natsu swiftly pulled me through the threshold. I opened my eyes to see our apartment was covered in tall burning candles, giving it an soft glow. On the night stand by my bed there was a bottle, in a bucket of ice. Natsu unwillingly put me down and I walked over to it, there was a note taped to the bottle.

'Lucy,

Sorry we broke into your apartment, I know you hate that, but Mira and Lissanna insisted that you would like the surprise so much that you wouldn't get made. Juvia, Levy and myself, brought your things home, and the presents from the shower, there is also a special snack for you in the fridge, Cana says enjoy the wine, it's a good year. Oh and Levy says she wants details when you manage to come to the guild again.

Always with the best intentions

-Erza Scarlet. '

"Well that was sweet of them." I read the note to myself again and laughed. I really had the best friends in the world. I turned to see Natsu sitting on the couch, he seemed to be taking deep breaths. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Natsu what's wrong?" I started to walk towards him.

"What did Gray say to you?" I could tell he was trying to keep his cool, I stopped in my tracks.

"I'm sure you heard the whole conversation." I said, I couldn't hide the tears forming in my eyes.

"I need to hear it from you." He said, refusing to look up, his shoulders were tensing up uncomfortably.

"He said that it hurts to see us happy but that he would stand in the way." I made my way to sit down next to him. His head was in his hands now.

"He told you he loves you, did it make you feel anything?" He asked with out looking up.

"It made me feel sad." I said honestly. "He is a good friend, and I enjoy having him around. It isn't fair that he is still fixating on something that was never there to begin with." I put my hands under his chin and turned his head to look at me. "I also told him flat out that it didn't matter what he did, that he never had a chance and that he needed to stop pinning over something that was never his." His face was still so serious, dark eyes searching my face.

"And Loke?" He said slowly.

"He is like my big brother, and I love that he is there for me when I need him." I gave Natsu the warmest smile I could and moved my hand onto his cheek. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. "Why are you asking this so suddenly?" I tilted my head to the side, I knew I must look confused.

"To clear any doubts I may have before we finish stage four, we can't have any doubts." He took a deep breath.

"What were you doubting?" I asked gently.

"Over the past week, everyone has been doing nothing but talk about how amazing you are, how you are true royalty, and how lucky I was to get a catch like you. I've been doubting that I'm what's really good for you, I've always had doubts about being good enough for you." The pain in his voice broke my heart. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his head down against my chest.

"Listen to my heart when I say this, understand." He mumbled his agreement.

"You are the best thing that has ever come into my life. You are the bravest man I know. You have a pure heart and a smile that has always made me weak. My heart had given itself to you long before I even realized I wanted to. There is no one else in the world who deserves me, because you are my perfect match. My twin fire." I let go of his head letting him sit up. "Now did my heart falter at all?" he shook his head. "See. You're everything to me." He smiled brightly and kissed me softly.

"I feel the same, I mean there were time with Lissanna that I felt embarrassed or shy, but never like the way you make me feel. It's like you are a drug, and I'm addicted. Like nothing else mattered to me, once I found you." He closed his eyes taking a deep breath.

"So, tell me what happens now." His eyes opened, and he smiled. He stood up and found a stack of paper on the kitchen table and proceeded to hand them to me. I scanned through the pages, noting the portions that explained the first three stages, I slowed when it began to mention the Ceremony Of Dragon's Vows. I took each line in carefully, memorizing what I needed to do.

"So, it looks complicated right?" He smiled at me.

"It's like a blood pact, right?" I put the papers down, as he nodded. I made my way to the kitchen grabbing a pairing knife from the drawer. "Heat this up so we don't get an infection or anything." I handed the knife over. Natsu lit his fingers and grazed them lightly across the metal blade for a minute, before handing it back.

"Are you ready?" He sat on the floor unbuttoning his shirt, his jacket already lay discarded beside the couch. I saw the exposed mark on his chest, a tiny key piercing through a star. I fallowed suit, pushing my hair from my chest exposing the flame mark over my heart. I took the knife and gently presses it against the pad of my index finger, applying just enough pressure to pull the crimson liquid to the surface. I handed the knife to Natsu who careful repeated the process. Once both of our fingers were bleeding we reached out and gently traced the mark on the others chest. Once that was finished we both whispered the words. "Connect to the heart, bound by the blood, one life is made." then he put his bleeding finger tip to my lips, I did the same while allowing his finger to push back beyond my lips I gently sucked the the blood from the tiny wound, as he did for me. The marks on our chests glowed for a minute before returning to normal. "Now you are really mine." He said with a smirk. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek sweetly.

That didn't seem to be enough for him, Natsu swiftly wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled my mouth to his, the heat spread though me the same as it had the first time. I could feel myself melting into his touch, but I was having a hard time catching my breath, I pulled away.

"Hold on a minute, I'm gonna change out of this horrid corset." I ran to the bed room and pulled Virgo's key out. I quickly summoned her.

"What can I do for you, Princess?" She bowed.

"Get me out of this thing Virgo, as quickly as possible!" I hissed softly. She quickly undid the dress and unlaced the corset, pulling it away, my dress went with it. Virgo handed me one of the night gowns that Evergreen had given me for the shower. I flushed but put it on all the same. I undid the clasp on my garter and kicked my shoes off before pulling down the troublesome stockings. "Thank you!" I breathed as Virgo disappeared.

I made my way back to the living room. Natsu was playing with his gloves, sitting cross legged on the floor. I coughed to get his attention. To my delight his eyes went wide.

"So we are going to pick up where we left off the other night?" He breathed voice low and thick. He stood up to walk over to me pulling one hand up to rest on my cheek. His lips brushed against mine teasingly before fulling colliding, the warmth was spreading from his lips into my body. I took off his top hat and brushed my hands through his hair, enjoying the feel of the soft pink spikes. He laughed.

"I like it better when your hair is messy." I felt his warm hand move to the base of my neck. I pulled him into another kiss putting more pressure against his lips wanting a deeper kiss, I tilted my head to to side so I could breath through my nose. The kiss intensified as he pried my mouth open with his tongue, the burning inside my mouth was dizzying, I had to pull away to get a full breath of air.

"Lets move to the bedroom." I grabbed his hand leading him over to the bed. He didn't wait for me to sit down before his lips were on mine again, his hands were becoming more adventurous. I pushed his shirt off his shoulders tracing the hard lines of his hard chest, making my way over his shoulder, running my fingers lightly down his arms to fully rid myself of the thin fabric that was in the way.

Natsu smiled at me trailing hot kisses down my neck and across my already exposed shoulders. I reclaimed his lips, my hands searching over his exposed flesh. After what felt like an eternity, Natsu took a turn searching, his hot hand slide painfully slow up my sides, searching, feeling. I reached out and began unbuckling his belt, and releasing his zipped, his pants and shorts got kicked to join the party of fabric in the corner. Natsu's hands found the hem of my night dress and pulled it over my head. I was now left with the thin frilly white lace undergarment as the only thing between me and him.

I pulled away, setting myself on the bed to fully ride myself of lace. In an instant Natsu's hands were on my shoulders, pushing me back against the cool fabric of my comforter. He smiled before he turned his mouth to my chest, laying burning kisses across the sensitive skin, he trailed them down across my stomach then made his way back up to my mouth. I worked my hand around his neck, slowly tracing down to his shoulder blades. My fingers took on a mind of their own, needing desperately to memorize every inch of this man.

He was mine now, and no one else's, I would enjoy every second of this. Finally, alone in OUR home, burning skin pressed comfortably against one another, I was left completely breathless from his needy kisses. His hands trailed the lines of my stomach, making their way to my thighs, he stroked them fondly, he seemed to be just as greedy about memorizing me as I was with him. His lips trailed the plains of my body, nipping and tasting, I too allowed my lips to venture down to his muscular neck. I softly kissed the rough patch were I felt the scar on his neck, then continued down across his shoulders and then trailed down to his mark. He pulled back for a minute looking me in the eyes. He set a serious expression on his face.

"Can I try something?" He asked softly. I smiled gently at him.

"I'm yours remember, you can do anything you want now." This brought a bright smile to his face. I giggled and pulled him back, sliding his earlobe into my mouth. I felt pressure on my thighs as they were pressed apart, I willing settled myself against the heat of his waist. He paused for a moment when I bit down oh his ear, then he began to push forward. I gasped at the sudden contact, Natsu seemed to enjoy my outburst and continued, he pushed himself deeper slowly allowing us both a moment to catch our breath before moving.

The pressure was intense and the heat was building up around him, Natsu pulled back slowly before thrusting forward again. I cried out, digging my nails into the soft flesh of his neck. He paused for a moment and looked at me worried.

"It's alright, I think that's was supposed to hurt." I said softly, brushing my fingers across his cheek with a smile. "But it wasn't a bad hurt." He smiled back, nodding. His lips descending on mine again, as he adjusted his hands, laying them on the bed on either side of my head. He began again, braver now that I told him it was ok. He seemed to take pleasure in the way he made me cry out. He picked up speed, latching his mouth onto my neck.

'Heaven! Yes, this is what heaven must feel like!' I thought as his mouth moved over my chest, tongue brushing across my mark. I felt Natsu slow as he turned his attention to my soft flesh, I wasn't ready for him to stop, I panicked, "Don't stop, Natsu!" I cried hoarsely. He pulled his head back smiling.

"I wasn't planning on stopping any time soon Luce." He returned his lips to the my burning stomach, the rhythm slowed as he enjoyed my labored breathing. He pulled his hands back from the bed brushing them across my hair which had begun to come undone. He found the pin, and released it, placing it on he night stand. He worked his hands, unbinding my golden locks. He pulled a curl to his nose and took a deep breath, before letting it fall across my face. I put my hands behind his head knotting my fingers in his messy pink hair, and pulled his mouth down on mine. He picked up his speed again, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his mid section pulling him in deeper. I could feel my body tighten, my back arched up into him as the pressure from his thrust set me into a dream like state, I clung tightly to his hair, but breaking the kiss with a satisfied scream. My vision went white as we collapsed in a heep of hot sweaty flesh, breathing heavily. We smiled at each other, laying tangled up, just content to be there.

After a while Natsu lifted himself off of me, I disapproved of the cold and rolled to cradle myself happily against the side of his body. I nuzzled my head into his out stretched arm, grinning. He brought his free arm around, carefully brushing my messy bangs back from my grinning face. "I love you." He breathed. I lifted my hand and brushed his cheek.

"I love you too." He leaned in and kissed my forehead. He wrapped his arm around my waist holding me as close to him as possible. I drifted off for a few minutes. I opened my eyes, and remembered the apartment was full of candles that were lit. "I can't fall asleep yet, not with lit candle." I tried to get up, but Natsu was faster, lifting me up while kicking back the comforter. he placed me back in the bed, I smiled and curled up letting my eyes fall shut.

**Normal POV**

Natsu watched as Lucy's eyes fell closed once more, he carefully pulled the covers over her sleeping figure. He grabbed his boxers, and slowly made is way over to the night stand to take a peek at the note that made Lucy laugh earlier. It was from Erza, Natsu must have caught the word snack, because he made his way to the kitchen. On the counter was a bottle with another note. Natsu pulled it off, Smiling as he read the relatively long note.

'Natsu,

The Whiskey is for you, I asked Levy to leave it where you could find it, I bet its right next to the fridge right? Any way don't worry about Happy, Lissanna and Wendy have been battling over who gets to keep him, I think he will have a fun vacation, so take your time coming back. Oh and let Lucy sleep in tomorrow, she will probably need it! Have fun!

Cana

PS this is Levy, just in case something goes wrong I gave Lu-chan a fire extinguisher and some extra bedding. They are in the large bag in the bedroom with the rest of the shower gifts. Hope you don't need it but hey it's better to prepare right. Take it easy on Lu-chan, it's not easy to control the water once you've opened the flood gates. GOOD LUCK!

Levy-chan!'

Natsu laughed, setting the note on the counter. He grabbed a mug and poured himself a small glass. "Cana has good taste." he put the mug in the sink and opened the fridge, the 'snack' seemed to be geared toward Lucy rather than him, 'maybe the candles are supposed to be my snack' he thought a smirk forming on his face, 'well can't let a good fire go to waste' he busied himself with extinguishing the multitude of tiny flames. It actually took longer than he had expected the girls had really put a lot of work into this. Natsu made his way back into the kitchen, and grabbed the tallest glass he could find, filling it with water. He grabbed the tray of 'snacks' and headed back into the bed room. He set the water cup down on the night stand next to the wine. and moved to put the tray for Lucy on the desk. Natsu noticed the night dress that Lucy had only worn for a few minutes, it was white and lace, practically see through. He realized that he had never see it among Lucy's belongings, he suddenly remember the notes. It must have been a present. Carefully Natsu pulled back the covers and gently lift Lucy just enough to put the garment over her head. It seemed to be sleeveless so he just slide is down to cover her.

Suddenly her eyes fluttered open.

Natsu's POV

I sat down on the edge of the bed, as Lucy rubbed her eyes with a sleepy smile. "Are you thirsty?" She looked at me, eyes still clouded with sleep, she nodded slightly. I handed her the glass, and watched her drain it.

"I'm gonna go get more, do you mind?" She pointed to where I was sitting.

"I'll get it, there is some food on your desk." I took the glass of water, and headed out to the kitchen. I could hear the mattress shift as Lucy moved to stand up. She was taking her time before standing, I could hear her light sets making their way to the desk. There was a small happy squeal and then crunching. I smiled, happy she was enjoying it. I filled the glass and returned it to Lucy quickly, she took it with a grateful smile and drained it just as fast. I started to look around the room curious as to what other presents Lucy had gotten, and soon I spotted the bags on the floor by the closet.

I decided to investigate. "Cana and Levy left me a note in the kitchen." I said as I walked towards the corner of the room.

"Did they now?" She asked, I could heart her heart beat faster, which made me even more curious about what had gone on during the day.

"Yep, and I'm surprised Levy has such little faith in me! I mean, I may have burned you night gown a little, but I didn't set anything on fire." I mocked a pout as I sat on the floor next to the bags. "Cana said we don't have to worry about Happy, he is busy trying to decide between Lissanna and Wendy. Although I would be surprised if Charle won't allow him any where near Wendy after the flaming fish incident." I laughed, remembering how Angry Mira got as they tried to put out the flames.

"Charle was very upset, she yelled at Wendy for spoiling him." Lucy laughed too.

"So what else happened today, anything fun?" I peeked in the bag bag that had Levy written up the side, there were at least a dozen sets of sheets, a comforter, and pillow, under neath I could see the nozzle of the extinguisher. Levy really meant it when she said it's best to be prepared. I laughed again.

"Well, Erza used a cool potion to make my hair grow incredibly fast. Then there was the surprise Bridal Shower, the girls were really sweet making sure I ate plenty, I was almost afraid if I didn't eat when I was told that Erza would force feed me." She laughed nervously. "We had a really nice time with Violet the photographer, she was a sweet girl. And, OH I almost completely forgot. I had a visitor!" Suddenly Lucy was crossing the room pulling things out of the bags. I watched her throw more of the night gowns, but in different colors out and throw them, then a whip with spikes on the end. I gulped, making a mental note not to piss Lucy off when she had that. She rummaged through velvet boxes and her veil. she pulled out a black outfit, throwing it towards the bed. then she stopped. "Those cunning little devils." She whispered.

"What's wrong?" I asked confused. I watched Lucy pulled a purple bag over, and hold it tightly. "What's in that one Luce?" I asked trying to peek, I noticed that she was blushing, and I decided I needed to know now. I inched closer, sniffing to see what was making her so flustered. It was an oddly sweet smell, laced with smells I had never come across. "LLLUUUUUCCCCCEEEEE, what's in the bag?" I whined. She took a deep breath, before turning to face me.

"Don't get any funny ideas, Mira and Lissanna have a strange sense of humor." She frowned, pulling a gold box out of the bag before she handed it to me. I looked inside, pushing things aside I found the odd sweet smell and became even more confused. Lucy laughed, and I looked at her.

"Do you know what any of that is?" She asked smirking.

"Um, it looks like fancy under wear, like fancier than the ones you usually buy." She shot me a raise eye brow. "What, it's Erza's fault, she was going through your drawer and I just so happened to see." I shrugged. Lucy put her hand on her forehead. "I don't think that really matters anymore, anyway right?" I smirked, and I saw her blush.

"I guess your right." She gave me the sweet smile that made me weak.

"So my question is why do they smell sweet?" Lucy choked, turning bright red.

"The are kind of like candy." She said in a very soft voice. I laughed.

"Candy underwear, that weird." I gave the bag back to her still laugh. I could tell she was relieved, I wondered why it made her so uncomfortable, but decided I was more interested in the box she was holding. "So who visited, and what's in the box?" I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for an answer.

"The Spirit King, and he said not to open this until both ceremonies were complete. he also told me that I'm the successor to the Celestial Queen." She started to undo the bow.

"Gramps was saying something about the fact that you are the first to assemble 11 of the zodiac, and that if you manage to find the last key you'll inherit the title of the Celestial Goddess. So I guess it would make sense to have you become the next Celestial Queen." I wonder what exactly that really meant, though it sounded logical. Lucy had the ribbon untied now and was poised to open the box. She slowly lifted the lid and revealed two shining keys, one of them was a gold key the other seems to be cut from crystal.

"This is Pisces. but I have no clues what this one is." She took out Pisces, and I watched her call the spirit. Pisces, was not what i thought, it should be a giant fish or something, but instead there stood a pair of twins they were only as tall as happy, fish costumes covered their bodies, one was violet, with a white face, the other was lavender with a white face.

"What are your names?" Lucy asked sweetly.

"Pi" The lavender one said.

"Ciea" the violet one smiled.

"I'm Lucy, would you like to be my friend?" She smiled brightly at the small spirits.

"We knew we would like you," Ciea bobbed up and down.

"Leo and the others told us about you, and since no one has been able to find our key in over a century we decided to pick our own master." Pi said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Pi is just grumpy. Don't mind him, we hope to be helpful to you princess!" Lucy smiled and hugged Ciea, before turning to Pi and giving him a kiss on the forehead. that seemed to loosen him up.

"So I guess we can make a contract now if you want." Pi said, a little less cool this time.

"I'd like that." Lucy sat on the floor next to the little ones.

"You can calls us when ever and where ever. We are the harmony, so we mainly work as a pair, but if you need to you can use us separately, we are like yin and yang. We understand peoples hearts, and if you wanted we could manipulate them. Pi enjoys that more than me. I like to feel the happiness that people share, Pi thrives on their turmoil." She smiled brightly.

"So when you work together, you can calm a person's heart?" Lucy asked awestruck.

"If that is what you want, Princess!" Ciea squeaked.

"We can also read peoples hearts, so if there was something you wanted to know about someones past, or about something they are hiding all you need to do is ask us." Pi looked in my direction with a scowl. I saw Ciea shove him a little.

"Leave the Prince alone Pi!" She squeaked. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Your sure I can call you any time?" Lucy asked. Both Pi and Ceia nodded with smiles. "Alright, I will call if I need you, you can go back now." Ciea gave Lucy one last hug before they vanished. Lucy took the crystal key in her hand and turned it over several times. the head of the key seemed to form sort of like a crown. "Mama never mentioned a key like this." Lucy stood up and held it out, but before she could say anything I decided I should speak.

"Luce before you um summon anyone else... we should put clothes on." She looked down to see she was in the see through night dress still, and blushed. I laughed, pulling on my usual pants, that were conveniently right inside the closet. Lucy was about to head over to get some clothes herself. "Can you try on the outfit that's on the bed?" I asked with pouting lip. She giggled and walked over to her drawer, pulling out normal undergarments. She quickly dressed, and I was stunned. The top was the length of a dress, the black fabric fell just above her knees, but the buttons only cover from her chest to her navel, the edges were lined with gold. the sleeves disconnected at the shoulder hanging gracefully down her arms, the wide sleeves circled her wrists with more gold trim. the pants were tight fitting and white. I looked her over, a few times before throwing her the boots her father had given her, I quickly found her belt, and the white pouch that she had put her new key in. I spotted the new whip and gulped, but passed it to her. " Now that little thing you do with your hair wouldn't look right with your hair this long, how do you feel about twin tails?" I asked thinking how cute they looked when she wore them sometimes. She shrugged and walked over to her dresser sorting through her ribbons, she found two gold ones and tied her hair back like I asked. "I like it." She smiled at me and looked in the floor length mirror. She turned to look at her profile, inspecting her reflection.

"It's more fabric than I'm used to wearing." She admitted.

"It gets cold out it'll keep you warm, I think the sleeves come off too." I got up and walked over lightly pushing my fingers under the fabric, I detached the sleeve letting it fall from her arm. "It looks just like the on I wear, but longer, and it closes." I was actually really enjoying the idea of Lucy matching me, it even showed off her mark, I was happy that it covered most of her from view as well. "And in the summer you can wear a white skirt instead of the pants!" She grinned at my suggestion. "Hold on I wanna check something." I ran to the closet and grabbed my waist coat and vest and slide them on, before walking back. "Yep, we look good in black." I smiled brightly, wrapping my arm around her waist pulling her in for a kiss. A soft glow was starting to fill the room, signaling that the sun was rising. "Are you tired?" I asked while brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Not really, I did actually get to sleep." She laughed.

"I don't think I would be able to sleep anyway." I said pulling her in for another kiss. Lucy undid her belt, carefully placing it on the side table before leading me by the vest back to the bed. I wrapped my arms around her waist again, this time lifting her up, she wrapped her legs around my torso, never breaking the kiss, I laid her back down, and took my place beside her. Just enjoying how it felt to have her, here, in my arms after so long. This was like the best dream I had ever had, nothing in the world could ruin this. A never ending dream, where the princess marries her noble and beloved dragon. Inside I was grateful for the seven years we were frozen, it seemed that even though our body's weren't progressing, my heart and my brain finally met on equal terms, and though it was sad, the loss of Lucy's father was the spark that lit our fire. Our twin flame. I would never wake up from this glorious dream, I swear. Oh Lucy, the things you have changed in me, if you only knew how badly I needed you, and how for the first time in my life I feel like I'm invincible, completely invincible just so long as you stay by my side.

We collapsed, breathing heavily once more, holding onto one another. Lucy curled into my chest, and I buried my head in her hair taking deep breaths full of her scent. The rhythmic pounding of her heart was lulling me, and soon I found my eyes becoming heavy. I pulled the comforter from where it was pushed off the bed and wrapped us up tightly. "I Love you Luce." I kissed the top of my sleeping wife's head and floated into a sweet sleep filled with images of Lucy, and every sweet thing that would ever be associated with her.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N:  
>I want to take a second to thank my avid followers. I'm going to let you know that I plan to make this a trilogy. Honestly it started as a whim, but as I started writing it, I found I really wanted to take the story some place EVERY ONE and yet no one has fully covered. Lets just says anything that is worth something is well worth fighting for. Hint, hint! I'm going to ask for any critiques you may have to offer for what is to come. I swear I will do my best to keep the Romance alive!<p>

Always at your service.

~Chrys Stone

Chapter 11: Sorcerer Weekly

Lucy's POV

I walked through the front door of the guild, rubbing my eyes. The past couple of days had been eventful, but I missed the noisy Guild and my friends. "LUCY-CHAN!" I smile at a waiving Mira who was behind the bar. "Come look it just arrived!" She was waving a magazine around enthusiastically. Levy sat nearby with her own copy.

"Lu-chan look how pretty you are!" She closed the magazine showing me the cover.

"Wedding of the Century, go inside this exclusive ceremony, of one the most infamous Dream teams in Fairytail's history." Suddenly my face felt hot. "Mira, that Violet girl you sent to Fairy hills.." I trail off as Mira flipped to the center fold which was a full picture of my Bridal party in our gowns. I was seated on one of Erza red Velvet thrown like chairs. "Let me see that!" I snatched the thick edition out of her hands and started scanning though interviews with my friends, and beautiful pictures of Gildarts walking me down the isle. My eyes watered as I saw a picture of out first kiss. I kept flipping and my eyes froze on an editorial written by a Miss Violet Brant. I began to read aloud.

"The Most Powerful Women of Fairytail! Written by Miss Violet Brant

At first glance one word comes to mind, Beautiful. Out off all the guilds in Fiore, Fairytail houses the most beautiful female mages in both appearance and sheer number. The most exquisite Women of this Guild seem to have a bond of friendship that bring tears to my eyes. Erza Scarlet, commonly called Titania, has an exterior as hard and cold as the armor she is so famed for using, but once out of the throws of battle, her compassionate nature warms her features making her more radiant that the setting sun, she is loving and protective. I would give my right foot to count her among my close friends. Cana Alberona, previously known for her unusual drinking habits, and her card magic. Cana has a soft playful side, she maybe touch as nails, the daughter of the Gildarts Clive who is rumored to be the next master of fairy tail. Moving on the always sweet and sassy Levy McGarden, her best trait is her intellect, but she also has that playful nature when it comes to her guild mates. Wendy Marvel the youngest of the collection is a true joy to be around, she is the Famed Sky Dragon Slayer, I have to say that if it were possible I would put her in my pocket so I could take her home with me!

Lastly, the newly re-named Lucy Dragneel. At first glance, you see a blonde bomb shell, I spent a whole of thirty seconds with this woman before I couldn't help but LOVE her. Her bubbly personality and cheerful demeanor and infectious. Lucy is the most powerful Celestial Mage in all of Fiore, she wields eleven of the twelve Zodiac keys, and has been proclaimed by the Spirit King himself as successor to the Celestial Queen. No matter whom I questioned about this wonderful woman, the same responses were given. Lucy is courageous in the heat of battle, She is forgiving and kind, and she is the light that makes Fairytail shine so brightly. Lucy Dragneel is Fairytail's most desirable female mage! What a lucky guy Salamander Natsu is for capturing her heart!"

A crowd of people had gathered around me while I was reading. "Wow." Was all I could say as I let the thick binding of paper hit the bar. I looked around to see bright smiles. And I couldn't help but laugh. "This is to much." I doubled over holding my sides.

"Can't argue with the truth." Master giggled as he hopped up next to Mira at the bar. I rolled my eyes, in no way was I, Lucy stronger than Erza or Mira-jane.

"We should start a contest then, to see where the island group is compared to the older people." Cana sat down near me, barrel in hand.

"You started drinking again?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Gildarts is getting on my last nerve with all this 'daddy trying to make up for lost time' stuff. I don't know how many time I have to say, I like my life the way it is!" She downed the last of it with a satisfied smile.

"I want to start working on my non-magical combat skills, I think I'll ask Gray if I can use him as target practice." I gave Cana and Levy a devilish grin. They looked at each other and laughed, point over my shoulder. A VERY annoyed Natsu was tapping his foot. "What?" I tilted my head but he didn't flinch. I pouted allowing my eyes to build tiny tears. He shook his head.

"I should be the one helping you with that." He mumbled more to him self that to me.

"You won't take it seriously, I want someone that will accept me as a serious opponent." I put my finger on my chin for a minute then turned to Levy.

"Let me borrow Gajeel please!" She looked at me with a shocked expression, I heard Cana snort into her new barrel.

"EWW Cana not like that!" I pushed her off her stool. I turned back to Levy.

"LEEEEEVVVVYYYYY-CHAN, pretty please!" I could she her mouth twitch into a small smile. I jumped up and hugged her. Then I spotted Gajeel I forcefully grabbed him by the collar and dragging him to the guild's exit.

I heard Levy turn to Mira. "Why is Lu-chan so brave, huh? She's always been able to face Gajeel head on. I wish I were as brave as her."

"We all wish we were as brave as Lucy." Lissanna added from next to her sister. There was a murmur of agreement.

Natsu sat at the bar with a satisfied smile, "This should get interesting." He said to himself.

**Ok be angry at me for a little while, because this is the end of What 7 Years can change.**

**Got it all out? Good scroll down I have a surprise for you! ^_~**

Preview::: The Celestial Princess and The Dragon Prince

Sequel to What 7 Years can change

"WHAT THE HELL DID IT DO TO HER LOKE!" I demanded, setting Lucy's head gently on my lap, I looked up when I couldn't hear a response, "WHAT THE HELL WHERE DID THAT STUPID CAT GO?" I was so angry, I swore I would bet him to a pulp the second I got my hand on him. I looked at Lucy, who seemed to be mouthing words, but I couldn't understand what she was trying to say. I watched her closely, her body growing cold against my skin. "WENDY!" I yelled completely losing any composure I had left.

Wendy was by my side in a second, eye's wide as she examined Lucy. "This is some sort of internal spell Natsu-san, I don't understand what she is mouthing. She is so cold, Natsu keep her warm!" I pulled Lucy up and cradled her against my chest. I felt a shock near my heart and stared down at Lucy, my eyes filled with horror.

"Don't you dare die on me Luce, do you hear me? DON'T you die on me!" I buried my face in her hair, listening as her heart beat began to slow, her body was like ice. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME YET." I screamed Hot tears running freely.


End file.
